THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 135, May 2024
Dog of the month: Murphy Aitken Wines, Dundee
A bumper year for bubbles in the Top 100 competition Thirty-eight independents from across the UK have made their decision after a marathon day of tasting in London
S
parkling wine, Greek wine and
wine and Greek wine were also reflected in
much a return to the sociability of the pre-
orange wine were among the
the list of winners, with three macerated
Covid years,” says Williams. “For the past
high-performing categories at the
bottlings, and four from the Aegean,
three years, we had been asking our judges
earning Top 100 places.
to taste at home. And while we were very
2023 Wine Merchant Top 100 awards, as the independent trade’s leading wine
“We were delighted with the way the
competition returned to in-person judging
competition went this year, which was very
happy with the quality of the judging and the results, it was just not the same.
for the first time since the pandemic at a new east London venue last month. A team of 38 independent wine merchant judges gathered at Walthamstow’s Big Penny Social to put around 900 independent-exclusive wines through their paces. Indies from across the UK arrived in London from businesses as far-flung as Cornwall, Northern Ireland, north Wales and Scotland. The rigorous judging process meant each of the Top 100 and 355 Highly Commended wines was tasted at least five times across the day, with senior judges Philip Amps (Amps Wine Merchants, Oundle, Cambridgeshire), Julia Jenkins (Flagship Wines, St Albans) and Hal Wilson (Cambridge Wine Merchants), along with the competition co-chair David Williams, re-tasting and ensuring consistency throughout the day. As ever, the winners reflected some recent trends in the independent off-trade, with sparkling wine having a bumper year, and contributing some 12 wines to the Top 100, a record for bubbles in the competition’s 11-year history. The ongoing mainstreaming of orange
The Beckford Bottle Shop in Bath is expanding its WSTA classes to accommodate Level 3 students. Find out more about why it's focusing on education on page 15.