Peter Richards MW, Decanter Retailer Awards ceremony
Peter Richards MW at the Decanter Retailer Awards ceremony
(Image credit: Chris Mercer / Decanter)

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

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.