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Shortlist for Harpers French Wine Awards announced

Published:  26 September, 2014

The shortlist for the 2014 Harpers French Wine Awards are released today with the likes of Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, The Sampler, Daniel Lambert, Tim Atkin MW and Gerrard Basset MW MS fighting it out for the main awards.

The Harpers French Wine Awards will be announced at the end of its second France Summit taking place at London's St Ermin's hotel on October 21.

The day includes a full schedule of tastings, masterclasses, and special trade debates featuring key buyers from all channels of the UK wine trade. 

Daniel Lambert is the latest name to sign up to the summit when he will share his experiences on importing, selling and promoting French wine in the UK as part of the afternoon debate where different operators will provide case studies of what French wines mean to their business. Other speakers include Richard Evans of Dedicated Wines who will talk about building French wine brands like La Differnce and Les Dauphins; Master Sommelier, Gerard Basset, will look at his career promoting French wine through his hotel and restaurant businesses at Hotel du Vin and TerraVina; and Daniel Murphy of bulk wine broker, Murphy Wine Company, will assess France's role within the bulk wine industry.

The day's line-up of activity will include the latest trade data and insights in to how well the French wine category is performing in the UK off-trade by Tim Wilson of the Wilson Drinks Report, an analysis of French online wine sales from Wines Direct and an assessment of UK French wines sales compared to the rest of the world from Anne Burchett of summit partner, Sopexa.

A major highlight of the France Summit will be a series of specialist masterclasses where visitors will get the chance to taste wines and hear their views of Master Sommeliers, Gerard Basset and Kathrine Larsen, the current UK Sommelier of the Year and award winning independent wine merchant, Hal Wilson.

Key speakers and companies lined up to appear include; Richard Evans, Dedicated Wines, Free Run Wines, Rebecca Palmer, Corney & Barrow, Simon Jerrome, Matthew Clark, Nick Darlington, Red Squirrel Wine, Hal Wilson, Dr Arabella Woodrow MW, Broadland Wineries, Kingsland Wines, Murphy Wine, Alistair Morrell, Wine Fusion and Marie Knight, PLB, Tim North, Les Grands Chais de France, Alex Canetti, Berkmann Wine Cellars and wine consultant, Angela Mount.

France Summit

HARPERS FRENCH WINE AWARDS SHORTLIST

Restaurant wine list - Regional

  • Alimentum  
  • Les Mirabelles, Salisbury
  • TerraVina

Best Restaurant wine List London

  • Club Gascon
  • The Greenhouse
  • Green Man & French Horn
  • The Square 

Best independent for French Wine - Small

  • Amps Fine Wines
  • Grape & Grind
  • The Sampler
  • Taurus Wines

Best Independent Large

  • Cambridge Wine Merchants
  • Ellies Cellar
  • Laithwaite's

Best Distributor for French Wine

  • Daniel Lambert
  • George Barbier
  • Les Caves de Pyrene
  • Thorman Hunt

Best Supermarket for French Wine

  • Marks & Spencer
  • Sainsbury's 
  • Waitrose

Best Online/specialist retailer  

  • Laithwaite's Wine
  • Majestic
  • The Wine Society

French wine writer/critic

  •  Tim Atkin MW
  • Stephen Brook
  • Matt Walls

French wine ambassador

  • Richard Bampfield MW
  • Gerard Basset  OBE MS MW
  • Tim North, Les Grands Chais de France

A Harpers Special Recognition Award will be announced on the day. 

There will also be the chance at the France Summit to hear directly from key influential French bodies and companies that have signed up as partners for the day. These include: Les Grands Chais de France, Plaimont Producteurs, French Wines with Style, Côtes du Rhône Crus, The Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins du Centre, InterLoire, the Conseil des Vins du Médoc, the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne, Sud de France and PLB.

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