Wines of Chile reveals independent merchant winners

Published: 10 November, 2011

Wines of Chile has named the winners of its second independent merchant awards, which took place throughout the month of September.

The five winners are:

Aitken Wines - Dundee

Christopher Piper Wines Ltd - St Mary, Devon

Corkscrew Wines - Carlisle

Great Horkesley Wine Centre - Colchester

Leamington Wine - Leamington Spa

To conincide with Chile's National Day celebrations, merchants were asked to spotlight the country's wines throughout September - some ran tastings and events and sent out newsletters as well as being active on social media.

Michael Cox, European director, Wines of Chile, said: "We were particularly impressed with the breadth of the ranges of merchants who entered and the real commitment to providing their customers with choice and quality. The winning merchants showed real enthusiasm for Chile in their communications, whether through tasting events, local newspapers, radio, newsletters and in store displays."

This year, the public also played a part in the final decision, through an online voting system. Participating merchants were encouraged to ask their customers to vote for them on www.winesofchile.org/yourlocal.

The winners take home £500 plus a trip to Chile in January 2012, and five runners up will each receive £500.

The runners-up are: