April 10, 2025 — Following the success of last year’s “Judgement of London” – a tasting which paid homage to Steven Spurrier’s landmark 1976 “Judgment of Paris”, and which garnered interest around the world – London Wine Fair has announced this year’s Icon Tasting theme: “Battle of the Bubbles”.
The format of Battle of the Bubbles will be a double-blind tasting which will see the best Champagnes tasted against exceptional sparkling wines from across the world. The wines will be selected by Sarah Abbott MW, Wine Marketing Consultant, Co-Founder of The Old Vine Conference and IWSC Committee Judge, and Ronan Sayburn MS, CEO of The Court of Master Sommeliers. The tasting will take place at The Fair on Monday, 19th May, and the results will be announced on Centre Stage on Wednesday, 21st May at 14h00.
As with last year’s Judgement of London, Battle of the Bubbles will be judged by around 20 of the UK wine industry’s most discerning palates, including Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and wine writers specialising in Champagne and sparkling wines. This year’s judges include: Sam Caporn MW; Giles Fallowfield; Matthieu Longuere MS; and Jane Rakison.
The tasting will take place under examination conditions in a private room at Olympia. The wines will be tasted in pairs according to style, grape varieties, terroir, age, and production methods. 12 pairs of wine will be tasted over a period of three hours. The condition of each wine will be checked beforehand by Abbott and Sayburn and served by top of their game sommeliers. The wines will be scored out of 10, with half marks allowed. With 20 judges, each wine will then have a final score out of 200. The overall score for Champagne vs. Rest of World will also be announced. The scoring system allows for six key findings. As with last year’s Icon Tasting, the results may not be definitive but are expected to give an indication of whether there is a level platform across the best sparkling wine regions of the world.
Sarah Abbott MW commented: “Sparkling wine is a booming and dynamic category which is out-performing Champagne in the UK market. Yet, the hegemony of Champagne in prestige perception seems unassailable. I’m excited to see how these great wines are assessed by our crack team of judges when tasted blind.”
Ronan Sayburn MS commented: “Sparkling wine producers making Cava Paraje, VDP Sekt Prestige, and Prosecco Cartizze have raised their game—can their finest expressions now compete with the quality and prestige of Champagne?”
Head of London Wine Fair, Hannah Tovey said: “Last year’s Judgement of London became one of the key talking points of the show, with the world of wine holding its collective breath for the results. This year’s iteration is set to be every bit as exciting. As with last year, this is all about celebrating excellence, across the world’s finest wines and we are proud to host what is expected to be one of the world’s most anticipated tastings at London Wine Fair this year.” The London Wine Fair will take place at Olympia from 19th to 21st May. Visitor registration is now open via: www.londonwinefair.com
