Fog, rolling in from the Pacific, tempers the relentless sunshine of California and Chile and allows them to make elegant white wines. Clinton Cawood joins a bunch of sommeliers as they get to grips with some misty Chardonnays

Plenty of medals again for Chile, although the judges were most impressed stylistically with Australia and South Africa

A good selection of medals from across the New World shows this is a category with real strength in depth

More ambitious pricing but some decent wines too, with Australia, Argentina and South Africa leading the way

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

Riesling is making itself at home in more and more countries, but where is it performing best? Clinton Cawood joins an eager sommelier panel for a top-notch tasting that pits Old World against New World and some acknowledged masters against hungry, young upstarts

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.

The New World’s emerging white wine categories have been patchy in previous SWAs. But this year, there were some genuinely impressive – and cheap – wines

A smallish but dynamic section, our sommeliers found some really good, food-friendly wines here at prices that make them all well worth a look

Lots of wine, plenty of freshness, but not, for the most part, enough ambition. New World Sauvignon Blanc is a category that is rather treading water at the moment

Plenty of decent bottles and very few dogs meant that our tasters were positive about New World Chardonnay, though genuine excitement was in short supply

The usual mixture of styles, and a mixed bag of results too, with harsh criticism from the judges, but also more Gold Listed wines than ever before

New World Pinot’s strongest showing yet – and heartening signs of winemakers finding their feet with the grape as big fruit gets replaced with a more restrained style

Some very good wines here, with our tasters generally favouring those from the cooler climates and the mid-price points over expensive blockbusters

Chile, again, was the country to catch, with Gold Listed wines throughout the price points. On this evidence, the Kiwis and Aussies need to pull their socks up