Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards 2014 Shortlist

'Press Release:

On Tuesday 15th July the Roederer Awards judging panel met at the Maisons Marques et Domaines headquarters in London to determine the shortlists of the entries in the tenth annual the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards.

The event brought together the five judges – four in person and one via Skype from Portugal – strengthening the international credentials of the competition. After extensive and thought-provoking debate, the judges reached their decisions, naming the shortlisted entries for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards 2014.

Charles Metcalfe, Chairman of the judges, commented: “We have had many more entries this year than ever before. And the standard is higher than ever. Deciding on the winners of several categories was a very difficult process!”

“The awards revealed why some of the best-known wine writers have earned the reputations they enjoy. On the other hand, they also brought some exciting new names to our attention. I particularly appreciated the international nature of the entries and enjoyed seeing high quality writers and photographers from countries such as the US and Australia.

“Wine writing today is a very competitive environment; the Roederer Awards helps to sort the wheat from the chaff”, added Robert Joseph, one of the judges.

An invitation-only Awards Ceremony will be taking place to announce the winners at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on Tuesday 9th September 2014.

Champagne Louis Roederer and the 2014 judges are delighted to announce this year's shortlist as follows.

CATEGORY 1 – THE ARTISTRY OF WINE AWARD 2014

-          Andrew Barrow

-          Thierry Gaudillère

-          Adrian Lander

-          Clay McLachlan

-          Matt Wilson

CATEGORY 2 –DOMAINES SCHLUMBERGER EMERGING WINE WRITER OF THE YEAR 2014

-          Evan Dawson

-          Emma Harrison

-          Lucy Shaw

CATEGORY 3 – RAMOS PINTO ONLINE COMMUNICATOR 2014

-          Tim Atkin

-          Christy Canterbury MW

-          Michael Fridjhon

-          Julia Harding

-          Victoria Moore

CATEGORY 4 – DOMAINE FAIVELEY INTERNATIONAL WINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014

-          The Champagne Guide 2014-2015 – Tyson Stelzer

-          Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and sparkling wine – Tom Stevenson & Essi Avellan MW

-          Jura Wine­ – Wink Lorch

-          The New California Wine – Jon Bonné

-          The World Atlas of Wine 7th Edition – Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson OBE MW

CATEGORY 5 – DOMAINES OTT INTERNATIONAL FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR 2014

-          Tim Atkin

-          Michael Edwards

-          Richard Mayson

-          Anthony Rose

-          Gabriel Savage

CATEGORY 6 – CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO INTERNATIONAL WINE COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR AWARD 2014

-          Tim Atkin

-          Nina Caplan

-          Richard Hemming

-          Will Lyons

-          Francis Percival

CATEGORY 7 – INTERNATIONAL SHORT COPY COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR 2014

-          Susy Atkins

-          Tom Bruce-Gardyne

-          Michael Fridjhon

-          Joanne Gibson

The judges

DR JAMIE GOODE

With a PhD in plant biology, Jamie Goode worked for 15 years as a science editor. After starting wineanorak.com in 2000, he subsequently published three books, including The Science of Wine in 2014. Since 2005 Goode has been the wine columnist for The Sunday Express, as well as a regular contributor to a range of other publications. In 2006 he won the Glenfiddich Award for wine book of the year, and in 2007 winewriter of the year. In 2012 and 2014 his blog won best overall wine blog in the Wine Bloggers Awards (USA), and in 2012 he was blogger of the year for the International Wine and Spirits Competition.

ROBERT JOSEPH

Robert Joseph is the award-winning author of over 25 books on wine, including the Complete Encyclopedia of Wine, French Wines and the Wine Tourism Guide to the World. With Charles Metcalfe, he launched both Wine International magazine and the International Wine Challenge. More recently, he helped to found Meininger's Wine Business International, the highly respected publication of which he remains editor at large, and launched his own controversial thejosephreport blog. Other current projects include an innovative venture called Greatfoodandwinesites, an interactive video-book full of wine-related clips and an interactive Wine Marketing Toolkit. Robert is also involved in producing wines in France under the le Grand Noir and Greener Planet labels.

CHARLES METCALFE     

(CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDGES)

Author of numerous books including the award-winning Wine and Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal, Metcalfe is also an acclaimed Wine Writer, Presenter, Co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge, and occasional blogger thewinesinger.blog.co.uk

GABRIELLA OPAZ

Born in Chicago, but living in Porto, Portugal, Gabriella has a Masters degree in Education, is a published writer, award winning speaker, dedicated runner, die-hard traveler and 15-plus year veteran of the world of gastronomy. Gabriella is the co-founder of Catavino.net, Vrazon.com and the Digital Wine Communications Conference that will be held in Switzerland this October.

MARGARET RAND

Margaret Rand is a previous winner of the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards, a freelance wine writer and an international wine judge. She has edited several consumer and trade wine and spirit magazines, namely Wine International, Wine & Spirit and Whisky Magazine. She now writes regularly for Decanter and World of Fine Wine as well as for Drinks Business, Imbibe, Square Meal and the Financial Times. She is general editor of Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book and is currently working on a new edition of her Grapes & Wines (with Oz Clarke).