Andrew Catchpole joins a team of top UK sommeliers on a mission to see if Beaujolais can stand up to recent hype

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

There’s a battle going on for premium position on the digestif trolley, and it’s one that doesn’t favour the little guy. Our panellists strike a blow for the underdog with a flight of 15- to 20-year-old Armagnacs. Clinton Cawood report

The UK's biggest dedicated tasting of biodynamic wines

While the kick-out rate was high, the wines left at the end served as a blunt reminder to sub-standard also-rans of just how good the pink stuff can be

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.

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

A good, rather than great, year for white Burgundy with the 2008s often too tight and 2009s fractionally too young

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

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

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

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

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

Food Match Awards

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