SWA 2026 medal winners announced
This year’s Sommelier Wine Awards Trophies (see below) and medals can be revealed, following the strongest showing yet of award-winning wines since Harpers took up the competition post-pandemic.
Numbers crunched and scores assessed, France led the pack, with 27 Golds, pipping Italy at 23 (yet with the highest number of Critics Choice wines), with Spain also making the top three on 16 (and number two with regard to Critics Choice wines).
This pattern seen with the Golds remained when all medals awarded were counted (i.e. including Silvers and Bronzes), though with the caveat that while entry numbers for France and Italy were just a few bottles apart, Spain made its medal haul off a smaller base of wines.
Beyond the traditional ‘big three’ lie Australia and then Portugal, moving up to fourth and fifth place, with 13 and 11 Golds respectively.
However, as a percentage of Golds against wines entered, USA stood tall with its eight Golds – some way ahead of all other countries – with Portugal claiming the second highest percentage of Golds, followed by Australia.
Worth a mention too, is that 95% of all Portuguese wines entered received a medal, while a Japanese Koshu received the first medal for Japan since the relaunch of the SWAs in 2024.
Overall, for still wines, the Old World dominated, with a near 70 to 30 split with the New World, a pattern replicated with the Golds.
This year was also particularly strong for sparkling wines, with entries up by 15% this year to 139, with 118 receiving medals (the total of entries for sparkling wine last year) with a respectable 10% of medals being Gold.
Certainly worth a mention too – and another big ‘thank you’ – were this year’s 70-odd judges, who once again hailed from many of the leading quality restaurants, of every shape and size, from around the country, effectively representing a star-studded line up of sommeliers and restaurant wine buyers working in the UK.
From The Dorchester’s Matteo Furlan to Natalja Senina of Chewton Glen Hotel, by way of Da Terra Restaurant’s Maria Boumpa, Tom Fahey of The Terrace Rooms & Wine, Emer Landgraf of The Clover Club, and many others besides, the judging also provided an excellent opportunity for networking, while exchanging views on the wines.
As co-chair Isa Bal MS of Trivet put it, “this is a competition judged by sommeliers for sommeliers”. And the calibre of those judges – along with their collective decisions as to the medal winning wines – is what underpins the Sommelier Wine Awards and makes this competition stand out among so many.
Sommelier Wine Award Trophy winners 2026:
Fortified Wine of the Year
Chambers Rosewood, Old Vine Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge NV, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia
Champagne of the Year
Champagne Palmer, Grand Terroirs 2015, Champagne, France
Rosé Wine of the Year
Château La Coste, Grand Vin Rosé 2024, Aix-en-Provence, France
Popular Pick Red Wine of the Year
Mulline Vintners, Syrah 2022, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Popular Pick White Wine of the Year
Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards, Chenin Blanc Reserve White 2024, Swartland, South Africa
Dessert Wine of the Year
Bodegas Ximénez-Spínola, PX Delicado 2024, Jerez, Spain
White Fine Wine of the Year
Siddùra, Bèru Vermentino di Gallura 2023, Sardinia, Italy
Red Fine Wine of the Year
Mulline Vintners, Sutherlands Creek Pinot Noir 2022, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Sparkling Wine of the Year
Chapel Down, Kit's Coty Blanc de Blancs 2019, Kent, England
House White of the Year
Casa Santos Lima, Pluma 2024, Vinho Verde, Portugal
House Red of the Year
Zuccardi, Brazos Malbec 2025, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina
Sherry of the Year
Valdespino, Premium Collection Amontillado 'Tio Diego' Pago de Macharnudo NV, Jerez, Andalucía, Spain
Pét-Nat of the Year
Rallo Azienda Agricola, La Maggiore Pétillant Pét-Nat 2024, Sicily, Italy
Port of the Year
Kopke Colheita Tawny 1987, Cima-Corgo, Douro, Portugal
Maderia Wine of the Year
Justino's Madeira Terrantez 30 Year Old 0, Portugal
Joint Overall Wines of the Year
Mulline Vintners, Sutherlands Creek Pinot Noir 2022, Geelong, Victoria, Australia /
Siddùra, Bèru Vermentino di Gallura 2023, Sardinia, Italy
All medals winning wines and trophy wines are now on the dedicated Sommelier Wine Awards website (sommelierwineawards.com) and we will soon be announcing the Merchant and Producer Awards in Harpers Wine & Spirit’s July print and digital issues too.
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