High street retailers Majestic and The Sampler scooped two major awards each at the Decanter World Wine Awards on Tuesday.
Seeing off competition from Oddbins and Wine Rack at the Royal Opera House in London, wine warehouse Majestic picked up the Wine Chain of the Year award for the quality and breadth of its offering of more than 800 wines.
It also scooped the Best Large Wine Merchant reader award, and was praised by readers for its extraordinary range and knowledgeable staff.
Islington-based merchant The Sampler, known for its ever-changing offering of icon wines available for sample in Enomatic machines, picked up the Small Independent Merchant of the Year award.
The popular London merchant, which boasts an average bottle spend of £23, also bagged the Small Wine Retailer of the Year reader award, and was lauded for its innovative approach to wine retailing and superb range of wines.
The hotly contested Supermarket of the Year award went to Waitrose, which triumphed over runner-up Marks & Spencer.
Waitrose was praised for its ‘off-piste’ offerings from countries such as Georgia and Cyprus, the quality of its range and its lasting supplier relationships.
Other winners on the night were Tanners, which were crowned Independent Merchant of the Year, Yapp Wines, who scooped the Specialist Merchant of the Year award and Berry Brothers, which was named Online Merchant of the Year for the second year running.
Written by Lucy Shaw
