Success for Sainsbury’s at 2012 Wine Competitions

Last night Sainsbury’s was awarded top spot at the Harpers Awards, beating Waitrose, Morrisons and Majestic to the prize for Multiple Drinks Retailer of the Year. The grocer was praised for being most consistent across all areas of the business from supplier relationships, to innovation and customer offering.

The success at the Harpers Awards comes on top of Sainsbury's winning a total of 125 medals for its own label wines across the 2012 International Wine Challenge, Decanter World Wine Awards and The International Wine and Spirit Competition.

The medal haul includes two gold, 33 silver, 67 bronze and 23 commended medals, with an impressive 77% of the Taste the Difference range receiving an accolade.

Sainsbury's own label Champagne range also performed strongly with all five lines achieving silver medals and achieving 14 medals in total between them. To celebrate its success, today (23 May) the retailer is launching a 25% off promotion on all Champagnes until 12 June.

Category Manager Andy Phelps said: "We are incredibly proud of our range and it's fantastic to be awarded so many medals. Our buyers and winemakers work tirelessly to ensure the best quality across all our wines so this is a real achievement and testament to all their hard work. Here are all our medal winners, we hope you agree that they're worthy champions."

Notes to editors

Wine Name	Vintage	IWC	IWSC	Decanter
Sainsbury's Rosé d'Anjou	2011		Bronze
House Dry White	NV		Bronze
Taste the Difference Prosecco Conegliano	NV	Commended	Silver	Bronze
Taste the Difference Vintage Rosé Cava	2008	Commended
Sainsbury's Anjou Blanc	2011		Bronze
House Soave	NV		Bronze
Sainsbury's VDP Côtes de Gascogne	2010		Bronze
House Valpolicella	NV	Commended	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Vintage Cava	2008	Silver
House Muscadet	NV		Bronze
Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner	2010	Bronze	Silver
Sainsbury's Demi-Sec Champagne NV	NV	Commended	Silver	Bronze
Sainsbury's Brut Rosé Champagne	NV	Silver	Silver
Sainsbury's Blanc de Blanc Brut NV Champagne	NV	Bronze	Bronze	Silver
House Beaujolais	NV		Bronze
Taste the Difference Beaujolais Villages	2010	Silver
Taste the Difference Albarino	2010	Bronze	Silver
Sainsbury's Soave Colli Scaligeri	2011		Bronze
House Torla Rioja	NV	Commended		Bronze
Sainsbury's Blanc de Noirs Champagne	NV	Bronze	Silver	Bronze
Taste the Difference Marlborough Sauvignon / Coolwater Bay	2011	Commended		Bronze
Taste the Difference Verdicchio	2011	Commended	Bronze	Silver
Taste the Difference Petit Chablis	2010	Silver	Bronze
Taste the Difference Bourgogne Aligote	2011	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Macon Villages	2010	Commended	Bronze
Taste the Difference Côtes de Provence Rosé	2011	Commended
Taste the Difference Pinot Grigio	2011		Bronze
Taste the Difference St Emilion	2009	Bronze
Taste the Difference Crozes Hermitage	2010	Bronze
Taste the Difference Rioja Reserva	2005	Bronze
Taste the Difference Chablis 1er Cru	2009	Silver	Silver
House Pinot Noir	NV	Commended
Taste the Difference Primitivo	2010	Commended	Bronze
Taste the Difference Sauternes 37.5cl	2005	Silver	Silver
Taste the Difference Sancerre	2011	Commended	Bronze
Taste the Difference Alsace Gewurztraminer	2011	Bronze	Bronze
Sainsbury's Cotes du Rhone Rosé	2011	Commended		Bronze
Sainsbury's Rioja Reciente	NV		Silver
Sainsbury's Cuvee Prestige Cotes du Rhone	2011		Bronze
House Côtes du Rhône	2011	Bronze
Taste the Difference Pouilly Fumé	2011	Silver	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Barbaresco	2008		Silver	Bronze
Taste the Difference Barolo	2008	Bronze	Silver
Taste the Difference Douro	2010	Silver	Silver	Silver
Sainsbury's Fairtrade Chenin Blanc Viognier	2011	Silver
Taste the Difference Chateauneuf du Pape	2010	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Gigondas	2010		Silver
Taste the Difference FT Cabernet Sauvignon	2010	Bronze
Taste the Difference Single Vineyd Marlborough SB/Riverblock	2011	Commended		Bronze
Taste the Difference Cotes du Rhone Villages	2010			Silver
Taste the Difference Chilean Pinot Noir	2011	Commended
Taste the Difference Barossa Shiraz	2009	Bronze
Taste the Difference Priorat	2008		Silver Outstanding	Bronze
Taste the Difference Amarone	2009	Bronze	Silver	Bronze
Taste the Difference Chablis	2010	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Champagne	2005	Commended	Silver	Bronze
House Zinfandel Rosé	NV		Bronze
Taste the Difference Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé	2011	Commended
Taste the Difference FT Chenin Blanc	2011			Bronze
Taste the Difference Marzemino Veneto	2010	Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Languedoc White	2011		Bronze	Bronze
Taste the Difference Languedoc Red	2011	Bronze
Taste the Difference Faugeres	2010		Bronze
House Montepulciano	NV	Commended
Taste the Difference Touraine Sauvignon Blanc	2011		Bronze
Taste the Difference Lightly Sparkling NZ Sauvignon Blanc	2011			Bronze
Taste the Difference Sparkling Pinot Rosé	NV			Silver
Taste the Difference Wild Ferment Chardonnay	2011	Bronze
Taste the Difference McLaren Vale Grenache	2010	Bronze
Taste the Difference Ribera Del Duero	2010	Commended
Taste the Difference Navarra Red	2010		Bronze
Taste the Difference Rioja Blanco	2011	Commended
Taste the Difference English Sparkling Wine	2007	Commended		Bronze
Taste The DifferenceBordeauxRose	2011	Commended
Taste The DifferenceBordeauxSauvignon Blanc	2011	Commended
Taste the Difference Amontillado Sherry	NV	Silver	Silver
Taste the Difference Oloroso Sherry	NV	Gold	Bronze
Taste the Difference Pedro Ximenez Sherry	NV	Bronze	Gold	Silver