Sommelier Wine Awards 2025 results
The results are in for this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards (SWA) competition with 2025’s crop of entries throwing up a healthy tally of medals, pointing to both the quality and diversity of wines available to the UK on-trade. And once again, in terms of overall wines entered and medals won, the major European producing countries lead the pack. Notable standouts too, though, are Australia, noted for its strong medal haul, and sparkling wines, including the English contingent, which also did very well.
As a competition, SWA firmly reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the 70+ judges that pronounced on the wines over the two judging days, comprising as they did of leading sommeliers and restaurant wine buyers from many of the best restaurants and hotels across the UK.
Drawn from Hélène Darroze to Heron, by way of Noble Rot, Pine, 67 Pall Mall, Amphora, Moor Hall, Chewton Glen, Apricity, Gordon Ramsay and many, many other fine and Michelin-studded eateries besides, the quality of palates in the judging sessions was quite something to behold.
And the calibre of those drawn to judge is down to the fact that SWA is a wholly on-trade focused competition, co-chaired by Master Sommelier Isa Bal, and judged ‘by somms for somms’, open only to wines that are exclusive to the on-trade.
As such, SWA attracts quality entries from top UK importers, with those wines firmly reflecting the best of the global winemaking scene. Run by Harpers Wine & Spirit, in partnership with BCB London, it’s fair to say that this is by far the pre-eminent wine competition of interest to on-trade buyers.
The majority of the medals this year went to France, Italy and Spain, in that order, but with notably high success rates for smaller producing countries, including Greece, Portugal and the aforementioned UK.
The country bagging the most Golds was Italy, with 37 to its name, representing 20% of its total medal haul.
France came second on the Gold front, having to console itself with winning the most medals overall.
Notable, too, was Australia, which came third in terms of total Gold medals for one country, but highest when ranked by as a percentage, with a whopping 42% of wines entered achieving Gold ranking.
A mention should go to sparkling wines, too, which delivered a strong crop of Trophy, Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners. Moreover, among the more than 90% of sparkling wines that bagged a medal, just over 50% of the Gold’s went to English fizzes, which was high accolade indeed, given the multi-national mix of judges in the room.
Overall, however, the Old World swept the board with Golds, pulling in 70% of the total, with this figure also reflected in the overall medal tally (Gold, Silver and Bronze), where again the Old World took 70% of the gongs.
Meanwhile, the split between reds and whites for Medals and Golds was close on 45% each, with the remainder going to orange and rosé wines.
All medals winning wines are now available to view on the Sommelier Wine Awards website, with the SWA Merchant and Producer winners due to be announced in Harpers Wine & Spirit July print and digital issues.
Keywords:
Search
56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AN
Registered in England No. 6646125. VAT No. 938 4452 95
