Finalists for 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards unveiled

By Hamish Graham

Published: 08 July, 2026

Private members club 67 Pall Mall has revealed the 2026 cohort of finalists for its Global Wine Communicator Awards.

The 2024-founded initiative received 677 entries from 26 countries, with the final nominees whittled down to a group of 24 wine communicators from eight countries.

The judges for this year’s prize included a number of high profiles figures: returning chair of the judging panel Elaine Chukan Brown; Be Inclusive Hospitality founder Lorraine Copes; British wine writer David Kermode; Erin Larkin, Aussie wine writer; Chinese wine expert Xiao Pi; and well-known Youtube somm and communicator André Hueston Mack.

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Reflecting on this year’s applicants Chukan Brown commented: “The quality of submissions to the 67 Awards continues to astound me. We've had excellent entries all three years, but this year there were also simply more of them.

“The judges had much harder work as a result. Distinguishing between semi-finalists, finalists, and winners proved even more nuanced. Recognizing the care and thought the judges put into considering entries makes me proud to be part of the program.”

Founder of the awards Richard Hemming MW added: “For the third successive year, the 67 Awards is identifying a mixture of famous names and emerging talent as finalists in the competition. Our judging panel take their duties very seriously, giving full consideration to the incredible wealth of talent that’s out there.”

The judging process for the awards involved the six judges spending 12 weeks assessing each longlisted entry. All pieces submitted were assessed by at least two of the six, with the final decisions for the 24-name shortlist being finalised following six hours of online discussions.

You can read the full list of finalists below.

Laurent-Perrier Award for Best Global Wine Communicator in Long-Form Writing

Katie Mather, UK

Tom Hewson, UK

David Williams, UK

Noah Chichester, USA

Alder Yarrow, USA

Kate Nowell-Smith, USA

Malu Lambert, South Africa

TexSom Award for Best Global Wine Communicator in Short-Form Writing

Tim Atkin, UK

Tom Hewson, UK