Sommelier Wine Awards – Terms and Conditions

1. Who are we?

1.1. The Sommelier Wine Awards (referred to in these Terms & Conditions as the Awards) are operated by Agile Media Ltd. Our principal place of business is Suite E KBF House, 55 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9LH. Agile Media is the company that in these Terms and Conditions is called “we” or “us”.

1.2. For all queries or issues with the Awards and these Terms and Conditions, please contact: Sommelier Wine Awards, Suite E KBF House, 55 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9LH.

1.3. The customer service email is swa@agilemedia.co.uk. We will endeavour to respond to email messages within five working days.

2. What terms, conditions and rules apply to the Awards?

2.1. These Terms and Conditions apply to the Awards. Any persons who breach them may be excluded from entering and/or may be excluded from the Awards. By submitting an entry to the Awards, entrants ("Entrants") will be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions and to have agreed to be bound by them.

2.2. All Entrants must be over 18 years or over at the date of entry in order to participate in the Awards. The Awards are open for entry by professional wine traders only and are not open to consumers.

2.3. Entrants must visit the Awards website at https://www.sommelierwineawards.com/(the Website) in order to register for and enter the Awards and enter the required details including their name, job title, company details, email address and telephone number.

2.4. Entrants will then be directed to a personalised dashboard where they can upload details of the wine which they wish to be entered for consideration in the Awards (each a "Wine Entry").

2.5. Wine Entries will also be accepted by email if sent to swa@agilemedia.co.uk and provided such Wine Entries otherwise comply with the requirements of these Terms and Conditions. Entrants who wish to enter over fifty Wine Entries should contact us so that we can assist with online entry.

2.6. Wine Entries must conform to the specifications set out on the entry form. Full criteria and eligibility guidelines for Wine Entries can be found on the Website here: https://www.sommelierwineawards.com/eligibility

2.7. Entrants who submit Wine Entries totaling £500 or less will be directed to make payment of the applicable Wine Entry Fee (see section 3 below) via Worldpay and must complete the payment card details on the “Checkout Entry” screen, accept the Worldpay Terms and Conditions and press the order button. Entrants who submit Wine Entries totaling £501 or more, will have the option to pay the applicable Wine Entry Fee by Worldpay or recieve an invoice for the applicable Wine Entry Fee. Invoices will be sent at point of entry and must be settled within 15 days. We reserve the right to charge interest on late payments.

2.8. For the purposes of judging and tasting the Wine Entries, we require delivery of four bottles of each Wine Entry (the "Bottle Deliveries"). All Bottle Deliveries must be sent to a warehouse owned by Wine Logisitics. Bottle Deliveries are sent at the Entrant's risk. Further details and instructions can be found here https://www.sommelierwineawards.com/about-the-swa/frequently-asked-questions. Bottle Deliveries will not be returned to entrants.

2.9. All Entrants who comply with these Terms and Conditions, complete the registration form, complete Wine Entries, make payment and complete the requisite Bottle Deliveries will be entered into the Awards.

2.10. By entering the Awards, Entrants agree that if they win a prize we may at our discretion display their winning Wine Entries along with their name and company details in the “Gold List” publication, on the Website, in promotional emails and across various social media channels. Details of winning Wine Entries will also be published in the industry press.

2.11. Entrants must ensure that the email address and other details they provide when submitting the registration form are accurate. If the email address supplied is invalid for whatever reason, we reserve the right to withdraw the relevant Wine Entry from the Awards.

2.12. All completed online Wine Entries must be received by 5pm on 20 January 2025 and all Bottle Deliveries made before 5pm on 03 February 2025. Any Wine Entries or Bottle Deliveries made after these dates and times will not be accepted.

2.13. Entries may be cancelled up to 14 days after the original booking date by contacting swa@agilemedia.co.uk. After this date, entry fees are non refundable. Alternatively you may replace the product with another product at no additional cost up until 5pm on 03 February 2025. Charges may be incurred for amendments made after this date.

2.14. We reserve the right to omit or suspend a Wine Entry at any time at our sole discretion, without liability to the Entrant but shall notify the Entrant as soon as reasonably possible. If such omission or suspension is not as a result of any act or default of the Entrant or their breach of these Terms and Conditions including without limitation the eligibility requirements ("Entrant Default") then we will refund any Wine Entry Fee paid less an administration charge of £5. If such omission or suspension is due to an Entrant Default by the Entrant or its respective agents, then the Entrant shall still be liable to pay for the Wine Entry in full and shall not be entitled to any refund.

2.15. Changes to any Wine Entry must be confirmed in writing by the entrant before 5pm on 03 February 2025. If we agree (at our absolute discretion) to accept a change to a Wine Entry after this time and date we may charge an administration fee of £20 per Wine Entry for each such amendment made.

2.16. If a Wine Entry is submitted and does not in our reasonable opinion comply with the eligibility guidelines published on the Website or we receive complaints regarding a Wine Entry, we may, at our sole discretion, remove the Wine Entry from the Awards without reference or liability to the Entrant. In such instance, we shall refund the relevant Wine Entry Fee paid by the Entrant, less an administration charge equal to 50% of such fee, and the relevant Bottle Deliveries will be retained by us.

2.17. Unfortunately:

(a) employees of Agile Media Limited; and
(b) any person directly or indirectly involved in the running of the Awards;
are excluded from entering the Awards and their entries will not be considered.

2.18. Awards winners (Winners) shall be awarded either a gold, silver or bronze ‘medal’ or commended (the Prizes). These are not physical Prizes but rather industry-recognised accreditations which may be quoted to buyers for status. Stickers may subsequently be purchased from us that can be used to label winning Wine Entries. 

2.19. The Prizes selected and supplied by us are available as the only Prizes and shall be awarded to the Winners. Winners are not entitled to a cash alternative to the Prizes. 

2.20. We also reserve the right to alter, amend, suspend or withdraw these Terms and Conditions without prior notice. Any changes to these Terms and Conditions will be indicated on the Website https://www.sommelierwineawards.com and it is the responsibility of Entrants to check for any such changes.

3. How much will it cost me to enter the Awards?

3.1. Entry costs are as follows:
From 1 to 49 entries - £140 +VAT per entry
50 entries to 99 entries - £129 +VAT per entry
100 entries to 174 entries - £118 +VAT per entry
175 entries to 224 entries - £107+VAT per entry
200 + entries - price on application please contact Lee Sharkey to disucss

3.2. Prices for each Wine Entry shall be exclusive of VAT (which shall be payable in addition) unless otherwise stated. 

3.3. A listing fee of £99 shall be payable by any Entrant that wishes to have their details listed in the 2025 edition of the Sommelier Wine Awards supplier directory.

4. Judging and Selection

4.1. Judging takes place in March 2025.

4.2. Judges who apply to us to take part in the Awards must be Sommeliers or wine buyers/consultants working in the wine industry and are subject to a thorough inspection process by us. A directory of former Awards judges and more information about the judging process can be found here: https://www.sommelierwineawards.com/about/the-judging-process.

4.3. The number of Winners will be at our discretion and is likely to vary year to year and according to the quality of the Wine Entries.

4.4. We expect to be able to notify Winners via email before 5pm on 30 April 2025 at the email address they supplied on entering (subject to our ability to complete the necessary judging rounds by 31 March 2025). Winners will be directed to their online personalised dashboard where they will be able to view their Prizes along with judging notes.

4.5. We expect to release the Awards results and Winner and Prize details via the Website, promotional emails and social media in June 2025.

4.6. We reserve the right to verify Entrants’ eligibility and to check your identity. If you have been asked for proof of your identity and/or your eligibility, your failure to provide such proof within a reasonable time could result in your disqualification from the Awards. All personal details and information you supply must be truthful and accurate.

5. How will we use your personal details?

5.1. We will use personal details Entrants provide to us to operate the Awards process, to send updates about the Awards, to notify Entrants if they win a Prize. If an Entrant wins a Prize we may include names of individuals Entrants in the “Gold List” publication, on the Website, in promotional emails and across our various social media channels.

5.2. Entrant's personal details will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy from time to time and in accordance with the law as it relates to people’s personal details.

5.3. This link takes you to our privacy policy https://www.sommelierwineawards.com/privacy-policy.

6. How far are we liable or responsible to you?

6.1 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions removes or limits our liability for fraud, for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or for any liability which cannot be limited or excluded by the law. We shall not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss, loss of business or any loss of reputation. Our total liability to you in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, shall not exceed the total Wine Entry Fees paid by you in the relevant year.

6.2 We shall not be in breach of these Terms and Conditions nor liable for delay in performing, or failure to perform, any of our obligations under these Terms and Conditions if such delay or failure result from events, circumstances or causes beyond our reasonable control.

7. The legal position of these terms and conditions

7.1. These Terms and Conditions, and any dispute, controversy, proceedings or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to these Terms and Conditions, the validity and performance hereof or their formation (including any non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. The parties hereby irrevocably acknowledge and agree that the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction in respect hereof.

7.2. SWA and Sommelier Wine Awards is a Reed Exhibitions Limited trademarks. RELX Group and the RE symbol are trademarks of RELX Group plc, used under license.

8. General

8.1. These Terms and Conditions were last updated on 10th October 2024.