London Competitions

London Competitions A Competition that Rates and Promotes W**e, Spirits and B**rs by their Quality, Value & Packaging.
18+ | Please drink responsibly.

The London Competitions looks to recognise, reward, and help promote beverage brands that have successfully been created to identify with and target a specific drinker. For any w**e, spirits, and b**r brand to earn its place on a retailer’s shelf or a restaurant’s list - and then vitally stay there - they need to be marketable and consumer-driven and not just produced in the general hope it can find enough people willing to sell and buy it.

01/10/2026

Christie's International Director of W**e & Spirits on where the w**e market is actually heading. 🍷

We caught up with Tim Triptree MW at the 9th annual London W**e Competition - a judge whose palate quite literally moves markets at the world's leading auction house.

His read on where things stand right now is refreshingly grounded.
Consumption may be softening globally, but the quality coming through is genuinely improving.

As he put it:
"I'm optimistic about the future for the w**e market. People tend to be drinking maybe a bit less, but the quality, which is also encouraging."

Less volume. More craft.
That's not a crisis - that's a market maturing.

Tim also flagged India as a market to watch closely in the coming years, alongside the ongoing shift toward lower alcohol w**es as consumer preferences evolve.

🎥 Full conversation on our Youtube Channel - link in bio 🍷

Tim is once again joining the judging panel for the London W**e Competition's landmark 10th edition in 2027. If you're entering your w**e this year, this is your chance to have it evaluated by experienced w**e trade professionals like Tim across Quality, Value and Packaging.

Early Bird deadline: 30 November 2026.
Enter your w**es at londonw**ecompetition.com 🍷

Meet Raj Solanki DipWSET - Senior Category Manager and W**e Buyer at Libra Drinks Wholesale, joining the London W**e Com...
30/09/2026

Meet Raj Solanki DipWSET - Senior Category Manager and W**e Buyer at Libra Drinks Wholesale, joining the London W**e Competition 2027 judging panel. 🍷

Raj brings more than 28 years of experience in the UK drinks industry. A WSET Diploma holder and qualified w**e educator, he is also a Director of the Society of Vintners - a rare combination of formal w**e education and decades of hands-on trade experience.

At Libra Drinks Wholesale, an independent distributor supplying bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels and clubs across the UK, Raj is responsible for sourcing w**es, developing the company's portfolio, and helping hospitality customers build commercially effective w**e lists.

What stood out to us is how consumer-focused his approach is. Raj considers quality, value, packaging, market relevance, and the role each w**e will play within a venue's overall offering - not just whether the liquid is good, but whether it earns its place on a list.

That's a genuine route into UK on-trade w**e buying.

⬇️ Enter your w**es for the 10th edition. Get them in front of the people who actually buy :)

🔗 Enter via link in bio!

Most w**eries are pitching the wrong person. 🍷We sat down with Victòria Bryksa, founder of vinojoyLABS and former Senior...
29/09/2026

Most w**eries are pitching the wrong person. 🍷

We sat down with Victòria Bryksa, founder of vinojoyLABS and former Senior Brand Ambassador for W**e at Pernod Ricard across the Nordics, and honestly this conversation changed how we think about export strategy.

Her core point is deceptively simple. Almost everything a w**ery produces is aimed at the person drinking the w**e. Almost nothing is aimed at the person who actually has to sell it - the rep walking into a meeting with your w**e sitting alongside eighty others, in front of a buyer who's already said no four times that morning.

Every w**ery leans on terroir and family history to do the selling. The buyer has heard all of it before. What actually moves them is the translation - what does this w**e do for their business? Does it fill a gap, strengthen a category, give them something new to say to their own customers?

➡️ Swipe through to get insights into export strategy, Nordic w**e markets and effective brand storytelling

Full interview at londonw**ecompetition.com. 🍷

Introducing Part 3 of our London W**e Competition Top 100 W**es to Stock Right Now series. 🍷A collection of w**es that s...
28/09/2026

Introducing Part 3 of our London W**e Competition Top 100 W**es to Stock Right Now series. 🍷

A collection of w**es that stood out to our judges for their quality, value, packaging and commercial appeal - the factors today’s w**e buyers look for when deciding what deserves a place in the market.

Featured in this edition:

🍷 Sapiens Rosé - Moldova - Purcari W**es - Gold, 94 Points
🍷 Taylors Reserve Parcel Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia - Taylors W**es | Clare Valley W**es - Gold, 93 Points
🍷 Vera W**ery Cabernet Sauvignon - Moldova - Vera W**ery - Gold, 92 Points
🍷 Vino Rancho El Fortín Ensamblaje - Mexico - Vinícola Rancho El Fortín - Gold, 91 Points
🍷 Château Bertrand Braneyre - France - Château Bertrand Braneyre
🍷 2021 Alessandro Reserve Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia - Saddler’s Creek W**es | Hunter Valley W**ery
🍷 Metala William Formby - Australia - Metala - Gold, 90 Points
🍷 Valia Calda - Greece - Imperator Monastic W**ery - Gold, 90 Points
🍷 Rosso di Rosso - Italy - Diesel Farm - Gold, 90 Points

View the full 2026 winners at londonw**ecompetition.com.

Want to see your Cabernet Sauvignon featured in next year’s Top 100? Entries for the 2027 London W**e Competition are now open.

Early Bird deadline: 30 November 2026.

Enter through the link in bio!

Thinking of entering the 2027 London Competitions? We’ve put together a simple guide with everything you need to know be...
25/09/2026

Thinking of entering the 2027 London Competitions?
We’ve put together a simple guide with everything you need to know before entering - key dates, pricing, judging and what’s new this year.

📌 Save this post so you don’t miss the key deadlines.

Sid Patel | Beverage Trade Network

Want your spirit listed on Ocado? Here's exactly what their buyer is looking for. 🥃We sat down with Francesca Parker-Par...
24/09/2026

Want your spirit listed on Ocado? Here's exactly what their buyer is looking for. 🥃

We sat down with Francesca Parker-Partridge, Spirits Buying Manager at Ocado Retail and a judge at the London Spirits Competition, for one of the most practical conversations we've had about getting a spirit onto a major online shelf.

One insight from Ocado's own data genuinely surprised us. Customers are more likely to add a product to their basket when a strong promotion is paired with visibility during events. In online retail, if a customer can't see you, they can't buy you.

Her one piece of advice before pitching any major retailer? Do your homework. Understand exactly who you're pitching to, and walk in with a clear 12-month marketing plan.

Don't pitch the bottle. Pitch the consumer, the proposition, and the plan.

Full interview at londonspiritscompetition.com. 🥃

🚨 BIG NEWS FOR 2027 🚨Single-serve w**e isn't a gimmick anymore - it's one of the fastest-growing segments in the categor...
23/09/2026

🚨 BIG NEWS FOR 2027 🚨

Single-serve w**e isn't a gimmick anymore - it's one of the fastest-growing segments in the category, and the London W**e Competition is recognising it properly for the first time.

For our 10th edition, we're introducing two new trophies: Single-Serve W**e of the Year and Single-Serve W**e Producer of the Year.

Eligible Formats include: W**e cans, 187ml & 200ml miniature bottles, Individual sparkling w**e bottles, Pre-filled sealed w**e glasses, Single-serve w**e cups, Small PET or aluminium bottles, Individual w**e pouches & Small-format cartons

And no, they don't get an easy ride.

Every single-serve entry is blind tasted right alongside the classic bottles in its category. A canned Merlot competes against every other Merlot.

Same standards, same scrutiny.

Made something great that just happens to come in a smaller format? This one's for you. 👇

🔗 Enter your w**es for the 10th landmark edition via link in bio :)

Sweden's first Master Sommelier just told us exactly what separates a good w**e from a medal winner. 🍷We sat down with A...
22/09/2026

Sweden's first Master Sommelier just told us exactly what separates a good w**e from a medal winner. 🍷

We sat down with Andreas Rosendal MS for one of the most candid conversations we've had on the judging process - from what actually happens when a completely unfamiliar w**e hits the table in a blind tasting, to the biggest mistake producers make when presenting to sommeliers and buyers.

A few things that stood out. International success rarely comes down to the w**e alone - it's the strength of the distributor relationships behind it. Packaging matters enormously for retail, where a bottle has seconds to stand out on a crowded shelf, but matters far less on a restaurant list where storytelling takes over.

And the biggest mistake he sees from producers?
Showing up unprepared and leaning too hard into a spec sheet instead of the story.

His take on where the real commercial opportunity is right now might surprise you too - it's not a specific region or grape variety. It's balance.

Swipe through to see what separates a good w**e from a medal winner. 👇

Full interview at londonw**ecompetition.com. 🍷

📷 Credits: Mamma Jumbo Shrimp 🦐, Italian W**e Podcast 🇮🇹🍷🎧, The Buyer

Meet Joe Evans - B**r and C***r Category Manager & Key Account Manager at Libra Drinks, joining the London B**r Competit...
21/09/2026

Meet Joe Evans - B**r and C***r Category Manager & Key Account Manager at Libra Drinks, joining the London B**r Competition 2027 judging panel. 🍺

Joe develops Libra Drinks' entire b**r and c***r portfolio, identifying products with strong commercial potential for the UK on-trade. His experience combines category knowledge with direct customer insight - a clear understanding of what makes a b**r relevant, distinctive and commercially viable.

Joe brings a genuine buyer's perspective to the judging table. He assesses entries not only for quality and drinkability, but also value, packaging, market positioning, and potential to succeed with distributors and hospitality operators - the exact factors that decide what actually gets stocked.

⬇️ Enter your b**rs for the 10th edition. Get them in front of the people who actually buy :)

🔗 Enter via link in bio!

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