The Sommelier Wine Awards doesn’t give out trophies per category because we’re worried that tasters will feel under pressure to dispense extra awards in categories where they may not believe the wines are up to it. Instead, in keeping with the whole ethos of the competition, we leave the judgement up to the sommeliers…

A poorly performing category in previous SWAs, this year sparkling rosé managed to provide a string of good examples across all the price points

Over 1,500 wines can be boiled down to this: the hallowed Sommelier Wine Awards Gold List for 2011...

Yes, it’s chic. And yes, it’s elegant. But its higher price means that if you want to sell rosé champagne during an economic downturn, you’re going to have to work harder than ever. Natasha Hughes reports

With wines from France, Luxembourg, Italy and England, as well as the New World, there was a wider variety to choose from here than in the past

As one would expect, this was the most satisfying of the sparkling flights, with higher prices, yes, but also better value for money

Quality was hard to find in this most competitive of segments, as indeed was value for money

No champagnes at these prices, but plenty of interesting alternatives, often in a light, fresh style that’s perfect for summer by-the-glass drinking

Scented, flavoursome and adorned with beautiful flowers, herbs are an essential ingredient for any cocktail list this summer. Alice Lascelles digs deep...

In the second of our three-part series on the basics of food and wine-matching, Hakkasan’s wine buyer Christine Parkinson tells us how to go about pairing wines with meat