Harpers columnist Woodward wins International Wine Columnist award

By Lisa Riley

Published: 05 September, 2018

Harpers columnist Guy Woodward was awarded the International Wine Columnist gong at the prestigious Louis Roederer International Wine Awards last night.

Guy, who went head to head with fellow Harpers columnist Tim Atkin MW, was shortlisted in recognition of his outstanding work in Harpers, as was Tim.

With his work called out for being “opinionated and punchy” by chair of the judging panel Charles Metcalfe, Guy said: “I've always tried to make the column a little ballsy in this regard, so apologies and thanks to everyone I've offended along the way.”

Knowing how many “talented and dedicated” wine writers that were out there, and the work that goes into producing engaging content, Guy added he was “thrilled” to be recognised for his column in Harpers.

Nominated for three awards, Tim picked up the Ramos Pinto Online Communicator trophy at the event.

At the time the shortlist was revealed, Tim told Harpers the duo had made a pact… “if one of us wins he's agreed to stand the other a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne. If we both lose, we’ll commiserate together”.

In congratulating Guy, Tim said: “A promise is a promise and I will be delighted to hand over a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier to fulfil my side of the bet. More to the point, next time Guy and his wife Vanessa come round for dinner, I’m going to break out the Cristal so that we can both celebrate our success in this year’s awards.”

Guy said: “It was also great to be on stage alongside Tim, who was winning these awards when I was in my wine-writing nappies.”

Tim and Guy’s work appears each month in Harpers, sometimes supporting and sometimes skewering the idiosyncrasies and issues of the wine and spirits trade, each with a mix of humour and hard hitting comment that attracts a big drinks trade readership both in print and online.

In addition to Tim, Guy fought off competition from rival writers, including Robert Joseph, Andrea Frost, Michael Fridjhon and Elin McCoy, to be awarded the title.

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