DWWA 2015 Tasting Highlights: Vintners Hall

Hundreds of wine lovers and trade professionals journeyed through the hottest July day on record in the UK to attend a tasting of medal winning wines at this year's Decanter World Wine Awards, or DWWA for short. See photos of the event here.

‘Thank goodness it’s so cool in here,’ commented many of the wine trade professionals who attended the afternoon session at Vintners Hall as temperatures rose above 35 degrees celsius on the streets of central London.

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There was similar relief from the close to 200 consumers who showed up for the evening tasting at six o’ clock. As the balcony shot below shows, the tasting room soon filled up.

Guests wasted no time in getting started on the selection of medal winning wines available from DWWA 2015, its 12th consecutive year.

What to drink next? Consumers were spoilt for choice with a range of wines from all over the world, including some unusual bottles – such as Cieck’s San Giorgio, Erbaluce di Caluso 2010 sparkling Piedmont wine made from 100% Erbaluce grapes, which won a bronze medal.

Luckily for some, Decanter consultant editor Steven Spurrier was on-hand to offer his wealth of advice. But, even he admitted at one point that he had tried wines he never knew existed; which is proof, if you needed it, that wine knowledge is rarely ever complete.

Stepping back from the medal tables and statistics, many believe that enjoying good wine is also a social thing.

All you have to do is tip it….Riedel brought several of its elaborate decanters along to the Vintners Hall tasting to explain how different wines deserve individual attention. It also supplied the glasses for the tasting.

WaterAid, Decanter‘s official charity for the DWWA, also attended the tasting with a competition offering two tickets to the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter on 7 and 8 November.