Asda has beaten rivals such as Marks & Spencer to win best supermarket for wine at the 2015 Decanter Retailer Awards. See who else won prizes.
Decanter Retailer Awards judges praised Walmart-owned Asda‘s commitment to creating a diverse and varied wine range with the launch of its Asda Wine Atlas, using the tagline ‘a passport to wine discovery’.
- See a full list of winners below and see profiles of winners in the November issue of Decanter magazine, out 7 October.
This is what sealed Asda’s victory ahead of runner-up Marks & Spencer, even though judges also praised the ‘adventurous spirit’ and high quality of the M&S range.
‘The winner may come as a surprise to some in the room, but it is fully deserved,’ said awards chair Peter Richards MW at the Decanter Retailer Awards ceremony at London’s Connaught hotel last night.
‘It feels amazing to win,’ said an ecstatic Philippa Carr MW, Asda wine manager, immediately after collecting the certificate.
Among the other winners, Manchester wine shop Salut scooped the newly created judges’ choice award for an innovative retailer worthy of special recognition.
Salut offers 44 wines by the glass via enomatic machines and ‘brings a Mancunian no-nonsense attitude to wine drinking’, judges said.
The Wine Society retained its title as the best national retailer beyond the major supermarket chains, but it was pushed close by Oddbins, which has expanded its wine range by more than a third in the past year.
And crowdfunded retailer The New Zealand Cellar, based in south London and only launched earlier this year, won best specialist retailer of New Zealand and Australian wines.
There was recognition, too, for one of the oldest British wine merchants, Midlands-based Nickolls & Perks, which was runner-up in the specialist Bordeaux category, behind winner Bordeaux Index.
Announcing the winners, awards chairman Peter Richards MW said it was important to celebrate success in a UK wine trade that is demanding and often tough.
The full list of Decanter Retailer Awards 2015 winners:
Judges’ Choice: Salut
Supermarket of the Year
Winner: Asda
Runner up: Marks & Spencer
National retailer of the year
Winner: The Wine Society
Runner up: Oddbins
Large independent retailer of the year
Winner: Bottle Apostle
Runner up: Tanners
Small independent retailer of the year
Winner: Uncorked
Runner up: South Downs Cellars
Specialist – Burgundy
Winner: Goedhuis
Runner up: Howard Ripley
Specialist – Italy
Winner: Vini Italiani
Runner up: Lea & Sandeman
Specialist – Bordeaux
Winner: Bordeaux Index
Runner up: Nickolls & Perks
Specialist – Germany & Austria
Winner: Howard Ripley
Runner up: Newcomer Wines
Specialist – Spain & Portugal
Winner: Highbury Vintners
Runner up: Prohibition Wines
Specialist – Australia & New Zealand
Winner: The New Zealand Wine Cellar
Specialist – Americas
Winner: Roberson
Specialist – South Africa
Winner: Handford Wines
