Loire Cabernet Franc can be elegant, well-priced and food-friendly. Clinton Cawood calls together an Imbibe panel to see whether the grape can stand on its own two feet and achieve the same success as its big brother cabernet Sauvignon

CYNICS MIGHT POINT OUT THAT 2010 IS BORDEAUX’S SEVENTH ‘VINTAGE OF THE CENTURY’

The magnificent 2009 vintage left its gilt-edged fingerprints all over this year’s Loire submissions, with spectacular, seductive reds and vibrant Chenin Blancs in particular

Arguably the standout category of this year’s SWA, Beaujolais delivered some terrific wines at fantastic prices

Food Match Awards

A smorgasbord of styles and an awful lot to get excited about right the way through the medal categories

Despite having definite regional character, the number of Golds for the South of France continues to decrease, with ‘decent’ rather than ‘amazing’ the order of the day

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

A depressing paucity of white entries, but the best red showing since the birth of the SWAs, with high-quality, individual wines right across the price points

Once again, the Rhône was one of the standout categories of the competition, with great wines – red and white – across the region and across the price points

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…

With a general lack of great available vintages to call on, this was a category that polarised the opinions of the tasters

With screwcaps to the fore, the quality of the whites (particularly) and the reds here was amazing for the price. Rosé was another matter entirely

In the past, a By The Glass award has gone to wines that match specific dishes – the theory being that they could be served by the glass as ready matches with a meal.

Could the enthusiasm about the latest Burgundy release be warranted this time? Clinton Cawood buttonholes some sommeliers at the January tastings and finds reasons for genuine excitement