A winning “classic” portfolio
Despite tough competition, we are thrilled to announce we won the Sommelier Wine Awards Classic Regions Merchant of the Year 2024.
Having already been overwhelmed by the success we saw at the Sommelier Wine Awards 2024, where 85% of our entries received medals, including 13 golds, 19 silvers, and 24 bronzes, we were even more thrilled to discover last week that we had been shortlisted for not one but two Merchant and Producer Awards.
The SWA Merchant and Producer Awards winners were revealed at Imbibe Live on Monday, 1 July. Miriam Spiers, Sales Director - On Trade, and James Mackenzie, Head of UK Marketing, attended the event to receive our award.
Find out more about our SWA 2024 Medal-Winning Wines here.
Miriam commented, “We are very happy to receive this award, which recognises the wonderful producers we are so proud to work with and represent. They are at the heart of what we are about and what we strive to offer to our customers. So, to have them acknowledged by a peer group of judges is especially rewarding, getting the recognition they deserve.”
Winning “classic” wines
We are proud of the depth of our portfolio, boasting exceptional wines from Argentina to South Africa. However, this year, 82% of our medal-winning wines came from classic regions, with 20% receiving a Gold medal – and the largest share going to our Italian wines.
We remain grateful to all of our remarkable winemakers and producers whose continuing commitment to our shared mission, that by putting quality and sustainability at the forefront of all we do, we can make a better world of wine.
Congratulations to all our fellow nominees and winners!
What are the SWA Merchant and Producer Awards?
Each year, the SWA review the performance of all of the wines entered, and using a points system identify the best performing wine merchants and producers – those showing consistent excellence and quality across their wine portfolios. These special awards honour entrants who received a significant number of medals for their wines.
The review from the Sommelier Wine Awards judges
“Although Alliance Wine picked up several Golds – and a Critics’ Choice Award – for its New World selection, 82% of its medal-winning wines came from classic regions, with 20% of these receiving a Gold medal. They highest number of the merchant’s medals by far went to Italy, representing a spread of regions from north to south, and covering every price point too. Indeed, Alliance was responsible for both the Sicilian White from Fabrizio Vella (£8.82) that received both a Pub & Bar and Critics’ Choice Award, and the £65 Brunello di Montalcino from San Polino (which was also awarded a Critics’ Choice award). Elsewhere, there was good representation from all the classics – from vintage Champagne and English sparkling wine to Provence rosé and Rioja reserva. A special mention to its ‘sherry-esque’ Altolandon orange wine too, which took home the only Gold in that category."
A sample of Alliance's "classic" medal-winning wines
3744 | San Polino, Brunello Di Montalcino Helichrysum, DOCG, Tuscany, Italy, 2019 ( GOLD MEDAL; CRITICS CHOICE)
3547 | Fabrizio Vella, Bianco Biologico, IGP, Sicily, Italy, 2022 (GOLD MEDAL; CRITICS CHOICE; PUB & BAR)
4824 | Pierre Mignon, Brut Vintage Prestige, Champagne, France, 2015 (GOLD MEDAL; CRITICS CHOICE; BY THE GLASS)
4574 | Roebuck Estates, Classic Cuvée, Sussex, England, 2018 (Current vintage available: 2017) (GOLD MEDAL)
4295 | Château L'Escarelle, Les deux Anges Rosé, AOP Côteaux Varois en Provence, 2022 (GOLD MEDAL)
4881 | Bodegas Luis Cañas, Rioja Reserva, DOCa Rioja, Spain, 2016 (SILVER MEDAL)
3597 | Bodegas Altolandon, Enblanco de Altolandon, DO Manchuela, Spain, 2022 (GOLD MEDAL)
Explore "Our Wines" to learn more about our extensive portfolio, or get in touch to enquire about placing an order with us.