With more than 30 categories to enter, the Decanter Retailer Awards aims to recognise, highlight and reward the specific strengths of wine retailers across the UK.
Each year Decanter Retailer Awards categories are reviewed, and while many categories remain the same from year to year, others are updated or newly introduced with both the retailer and customer in mind.
In order to best represent retailers doing a really great job, updates and additions have been made to the list of categories available to enter. See what’s new for this year’s awards competition below.
New for 2020
New for 2020, the Green Champion Award aims to recognise a retailer that is making a commitment to reduce its negative environmental impact. The award will be given to any retailer (wine shop/s or online) that can show how their environmental initiatives and sustainability strategies have led to an improvement in their carbon footprint over the past 12 months.
What are the judging panel looking for when judging this category?
- The aim is to commend commitment to reducing negative environmental impacts and encourage innovation and continuous improvement in the UK wine retail scene.
- A commitment to training staff in environmental best practise is important.
- Judges look for an ability to combine environmental best practise with a commitment to quality across the wine range and the retail experience.
- Judges will reward innovative sustainability initiatives. They will be looking for things which might cover, but not be limited to, material or packaging substitutions, ways to reduce carbon footprint across the supply chain, circular economy, encouraging staff and customers to reduce, reuse, recycle and localise sourcing.
Updated for 2020
The Decanter Retailer Awards has included a Best Online Retailer of the Year category, but with impressive strides taken by retailers online, this category has been separated to reflect its growth. For 2020, entrants can now enter either the Large Online Retailer or Small Online Retailer category based on turnover. The categories are open to any UK wine retailer with a comprehensive wine range available to buy online.
The Local Multi-Store category – open to any retailer with more than one wine shop outside the M25 – has been updated so that areas/regions for this category are specific. The following categories within this award have been newly introduced for 2020:
- Central & Eastern England: Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, West Midlands, Herefordshire, Rutland, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire
- Northern England: Northumberland, Durham, Cleveland, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire
- Southern England: Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset Wiltshire, Avon, Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Isle of Wight, Channel Islands
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
Returning for 2020
The Decanter Retailer Awards is bringing back the Judges’ Choice Award. Decanter is keen to reward innovative wine retailing and award an entrant that the judges think is most deserving. No matter how small or large the business, whether an established name or new to the scene, every retailer that enters the Decanter Retailer Awards will be eligible for this award.
See all categories & entry criteria
New: Decanter Retailer Awards in association with The Drinks Trust
Entries for the 2020 Decanter Retailer Awards are now open until 3 July 2020 with all revenue going to The Drinks Trust, a charitable organisation providing support, care and assistance to the drinks industry since 1886.
Learn more about the Decanter Retailer Awards and enter the 2020 awards competition here.
