The International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) has just announced a partnership with trade publication the Drinks Business.

The IWSC’s previous media partnership, with Harpers magazine, was severed when the magazine was sold to William Reed Publishing late last year.

‘As soon as Nexus sold Harpers we put a call out to The Drinks Business,’ Allen Gibbons, IWSC’s executive director said.

‘We already knew [DB publisher] Charlotte Hey well, so it was an obvious call to make.

‘This new alliance won’t change the way that the IWSC is run,’ he added. ‘We’ve already changed a number of things over the past couple of years and we have a program of development that we’re pursuing over the next few years.’

The planned development includes the roll-out of IWSC judging to countries outside of the UK, using local judges to assess the wines.

The Wine Innovation Awards, the new competition run by the Drinks Business, will remain unchanged, a spokesman said.

Written by Natasha Hughes

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Natasha Hughes MW
Natasha Hughes MW
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer

Natasha Hughes MW began her career in the wine trade as deputy editor of Decanter.com. She left the magazine in 2001 and has since enjoyed a thriving freelance career as a writer and consultant. Writing about wine and food, Hughes has contributed to specialist publications across the world, and has acted as a consultant to private clients, wineries and restaurants. In addition, she hosts wine seminars and tastings, and has judged globally at wine competitions. Hughes graduated as a Master of Wine in 2014, winning four out of the seven available prizes at graduation, including the Outstanding Achievement Award.