Taylor’s Port Announced as Headline Partner of Top 100 Sommeliers 2025
The prestigious Port wine house reinforces its commitment to the sommeliers and the broader on trade with its support of the annual ranking in the UK.
7th January 2025, London – Sommelier Edit is delighted to announce Taylor’s Port has become the headline supporter of Top 100 Sommeliers 2025.
This partnership renames the initiative to the Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers 2025. Working alongside existing category award partners Saicho Drinks; Pere Ventura Cava; Banfi Wines, Gosset Champagne and Hallgarten & Novum Wines, the newly styled Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers will continue to seek out the UK’s best one hundred sommeliers nationwide in 2025.
Recognising value and importance of the sommelier’s role in hospitality, Lisa O’Donnell Director of Fladgate & Fortified Wines at Mentzendorff & Co, said: “Taylor’s Port has a long-standing relationship with the sommelier community, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to further strengthen our support by partnering with the Top 100 Sommeliers initiative. At Taylor’s we share many common goals with the Top 100 Sommeliers, including an unrelenting commitment to quality, authenticity, expertise and hospitality, therefore it seemed a natural choice for partnership.”
This unique annual ranking is not about an individual’s profile or the size of their wine list. It is independently judged on a combination of personal achievements, making it an all-encompassing validation of each sommelier’s own responsibilities, experience, and accolades.
Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers will continue to be judged by a panel of highly respected hospitality professionals and will announce the 2025 results at an awards ceremony in central London in June.
ABOUT TOP 100 SOMMELIERS
Top 100 Sommeliers launched in the UK in May 2023 and following its success quickly expanded into Spain in 2024 and will continue its development in 2025 with New Zealand added to the roster. Additional countries are currently in development and will be announced later this year.Entrants are independently assessed on a wide range of criteria, including their work experience, responsibilities, qualifications and accolades, to recognise those UK sommeliers who are at the top of their game right now.
Top 100 Sommeliers is not just about an individual’s profile or the size of their wine list. It is judged on a combination of factors, including:
- Amount of time spent on the floor
- Day-to-day buying, management and training responsibilities
- Experience and accolades
- Education, experience and studies
Our esteemed panel of judges ensure rigour and transparency. Their assessment of the data and the individual sommeliers’ entries guarantees a democratic approach based solely on merit and the professionalism of each sommelier.