The Buyer | London Wine Competition 2027 reveals its elite panel of judges

It is hard for any new drinks competition to come into the industry and stand out from the respected awards that have long made their mark in the sector. So when the London Wine Competition was launched in 2017, by the US-based Beverage Trade Network, it knew it had to quickly make an impact of its own.

First came the awards criteria and the brave move to go beyond the blind tasting assessments that the other major international wine competitions use and base its awards on how consumers decide what wines to buy - on how they taste, what value for money they offer, and what they look like on shelf.

Then came the judges. From day one the London Wine Competition has built a reputation for the sheer professionalism, mastery and expertise of its judging panels, and the fact it has been able to attract such a high calibre of top quality drinks professionals willing to put their names, not to mention their hard-won reputations on the line by agreeing to become a judge.

From Masters of Wine and leading sommeliers to Michelin-starred restaurateurs and top bar owners, supermarket buyers and independent merchants, it’s vital to the competition organisers to have a diverse range of judges from across the different elements of the wine world.

“The London Wine Competition is evolving to stay ahead of the curve in the wine industry,” says awards founder Sid Patel and chief executive of the Beverage Trade Network.

“By expanding our judging panel to include more off-trade retail buyers, importers, and distributors, we’re giving entrants direct access to the feedback of professionals who influence purchasing decisions. This move ensures our awards carry even greater weight in helping producers market and sell their wines.”

Top of their game

Not only do the judges come from a variety of different backgrounds, they are all at the very top of their respective games, possessing some of the finest noses in the business, along with their accumulated years of wisdom and experience. Crucially though, and this is what puts them on another level compared to many other competitions, is that they are also specifically selected for the fact that they are currently actively working in the business. They are still engaged in the cut and thrust of today’s highly competitive commercial drinks sector.

But it’s not simply a case of being wine gurus which sets this judging panel apart, but also the ability to apply that finely honed knowledge in a commercial setting. After all, there’s little point in having a whole array of top-rated prestigious wines in your bar or restaurant list or supermarket shelf only for them to languish unwanted and unsold, merely gathering dust on the shelf.

That is where the real skill of these professionals comes to the fore, in their unerring ability to successfully truffle out those gems that makes them stand out from the crowd, and homing in on those drinks that not only taste great and will appeal to a wide audience, but will actually sell.

But the wines are not purely selected depending on the judges’ own personal preferences which they must objectively cast aside, but chosen specifically to match up to customers’ expectations about what they want to buy and drink.

Judging criteria

The London Wine Competition is judged on a very clear set of stringent criteria. Firstly its quality including its appearance, aroma, body, taste and aftertaste; secondly, its value for money, and whether the price being asked for the wine matches its quality; and thirdly, its appearance and how will the packaging be perceived by the consumer, taking into consideration such factors as label design and information, closure and overall look.

To qualify for a top award, a wine needs to be of top quality, and something that offers the trade and the consumer great value for money, while also looking good and being able to stand out on the shelf or back bar. Therefore, the most important skill a top wine buyer or sommelier can possess is knowing precisely what their customers want, and finding the right drinks to match those preferences.

Just take a look at some of the members of next year’s judging panel already confirmed for the 2027 competitions. Drawn from an elite list of outlets, they all have one thing in common, namely the fact they are all directly involved in the buying and selling of wine, beer and spirits, with the know how and skills to be able to taste hundreds of drinks and pick out the medal winners.

2027 Judges

The 2027 judges include Dror Nativ MW, Marks & Spencer’s senior wine buyer, where he is responsible for sourcing and developing the retailer's wine range across Champagne and sparkling wines, England, North and South America, and other key regions.

He will be joined by his grocery colleague Will Hill, Ocado’s senior wine buyer, who has over a decade of experience in hospitality and wine buying, during which time he built up a reputation for his ability to identify emerging wine regions, unique grape varieties, and exceptional value for consumers.

Hill says that what he particularly likes about the competition, unlike others, is the fact that it is very focused on the consumer:“I like the transparency of the judging too, it’s all well and good seeing a gold or silver sticker on a wine, but you don’t really know who has decided that. With the London Wine Competition you know all the judges and can find out about them and their credentials really easily. And personally, it’s also a great opportunity to taste some amazing wines too – the calibre of entry is always great, and I take pride in giving my professional opinions on them.”

Leading sommeliers will also be taking part including Elizabeth Mellish, the head sommelier at Gleneagles Townhouse, alongside her colleague Matteo Montone, MS, the Perthshire hotel’s group wine director. Matteo Furlan, head of wines at the Dorchester will be on duty to assess the very best of the competition, alongside Emma Denney, director of wine at Claridges and the newly crowned UK Sommelier of the Year 2026.

They will be joined by Maria Boumpa, wine buyer at Da Terra restaurant, Eric Zwiebel MS, director of wine at Wine Bonhuer by Matt Abe and Svetoslav Manolev MS portfolio director at Armit Wines, who is one of the first Bulgarians to achieve the Master Sommelier title in 2019.

Christian Delalone, head sommelier at Pembroke Club, has been part of the judging panels since 2021 and has amassed a stack of experience in his career starting out in Paris where he worked at a number of prestigious establishments including Alain Passard’s 3-Michelein starred L’Arpege and Phillipe Faure Brac’s Bistrot du Sommelier.

Delalonde says he joined the competition’s judging panel as an opportunity to “practice, taste, analyse and expose my palate to styles and varieties of wine that I would not otherwise be inclined to, or jut would not fit my needs at work”.

Daniele Arcangeli, who was named Aspi Best Sommelier of Italy 2015 and Best Sommelier Tuscany in 2012 is another hugely respected sommelier who will be judging next year’s entries, and who currently works as head sommelier and wine buyer at Ekstedt at the Yard in London.

He will be joined by Yves Desmaris MS head sommelier at Galvin La Chapelle and one of the most respected wine professionals in the UK, bringing over three decades of fine dining, wine buying and hospitality management with him.