This year’s Imbibe Live event at Earls Court saw over two dozen sommeliers tasting some of the top wines from this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards competition to find out which bottles received the ultimate accolade. Chris Losh recorded the results

Some great-value wines on the Gold List together with a few top-end ones, too. With more controlled oak use, in future years this is a category that could really fly

A broad selection of decent, well-made wines, but far fewer for our tasters to get really excited about

Not a vast amount in the way of bargains, but there were some decent, unusual wines here, proving that the New World still knows how to innovate

Aussie Shiraz is rarely cheap now, but a growing elegance saw a big rise in medals this year – and a lot of happy tasters

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

Consistent only in its inconsistency, this year’s Aussie Shiraz category was all about the lower price points

A big improvement on last year’s medal haul, although with nothing under a tenner, it came at a price…

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

There was little to excite the judges in this new category. Here’s hoping for better things from the pair in 2012

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

Good wines, good prices and a variety of styles, Syrah was one of the stand-out varieties for the New World

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

A successful haul for this must-list variety, with Chile achieving a bit of a David versus Goliath giant-slaying

Somewhat under-powered compared to previous years, our tasters would have liked to see a bit more evidence of this country’s famous quirky individuality