The benefits of entering

Why enter SWA?

The Sommelier Wine Awards is the only competition to be aimed solely at the on-trade. Judged by a top panel of leading sommeliers and on-trade drinks buyers, the competition rewards the best wines available to restaurants, bars and hotels in the UK and beyond.

This is your chance to raise the profile of your wines with this hard-to-reach audience, who use the SWA results to create and enhance their lists, whether it’s a high end restaurant or a country pub looking for good value wines.

See what some of the leading SWA winners have to say about the competition here.

What you get:

  • Win recognition for your wines. There are Gold, Silver, Bronze and Commended awards. You also have the chance to win further trophy awards such as Critics Choice and By the Glass as well as our Fine, Essential and House Wine of the Year trophies. Find out how the judging works in more detail.

  • Get your wines tasted by some of the best sommeliers, Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine and on-trade palates in the UK. See who judged the awards in previous years.

  • Reviews and endorsements by top UK tasters, with tasting notes available for you to use and promote your medal winning wines to your customers.

  • Get new listings. Suggest your clients use the medal-winning logos, use our tasting notes anywhere you like, and watch sales rise.

  • Sell to other international markets by showing proof of your success in the SWA competition and use of its medals.

  • Get featured in the SWA Gold Book, sent to UK on-trade buyers as well as specialist independent wine merchants.

  • Your medal-winning wines will be listed year-round on sommelierwineawards.com complete with tasting notes.

  • SWA winners benefit from a multi-channel PR and marketing campaign including promotion across all Agile Media titles.

  • Medal stickers for bottles and logos for wine lists – both yours and your customers – are available and downloadable. SWA offers support and guidance in how to promote your winning wines.

  • Gold winners have the opportunity to be featured on the SWA showcase at the new BCB London show (formerly Imbibe Live) and at SITT events, as well as at focused wine and food pairing events and panel tatsings throughout the year.