Following on from the recent announcement naming Taylor’s Port as the headline partner of the Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers 2025 in the UK, the prestigious Port wine house is delighted to announce the launch of the inaugural Taylor’s Port Vintage Years | UK Sommelier Challenge. The challenge is designed specifically for the UK’s top sommeliers to demonstrate their Vintage Port expertise and to determine their knowledge and pairing abilities with some of the world’s finest Vintage Ports.

With nominations commencing on 01 May 2025, entry to the competition is by invitation only and will see successful nominees from around the UK invited to attend an event at Berry Bros & Rudd’s Napoleon Cellar on Monday 14 July, which will hosted by Taylor’s Port Technical Director and Head Winemaker, David Guimaraens. As part of the competition, participants will blind taste their way through six different Vintage Ports from six different decades, after which they will be asked to write a tasting note, suggest a recommended drinking window and advise on what dish they see each wine sitting against on their menu. Following the event, participants will have one week to refine their answers prior to submission. Guimaraens will judge the winners based on the accuracy of their tasting notes, suggested drinking windows and the quality of their pairing suggestions.

Prior to the blind tasting, on the day all entrants will be treated to a seminar on Vintage Port led by Guimaraens, which includes a Port Tong masterclass. The overall winner of the Taylor’s Port Vintage Years | UK Sommelier Challenge, will receive a two-night trip to Porto for two people staying at the five-star Yeatman Hotel, including meals and a private tasting with David Guimaraens as well as a selection of Taylor’s Vintage Port. The runner up and those competitors who are placed third, fourth and fifth, will also receive prizes.

As part of the competition, all winning entries will be displayed on the Taylor’s Port website and remain available after the event for anyone to access the tasting notes and pairings for their own information and education, whether they be other sommeliers looking for inspiration or consumers wondering how best to enjoy a treasured bottle.

Lisa O’Donnell, Director of Fladgate & Fortified Wines UK, says: “For many people, opening a bottle of vintage Port is a very special moment, however, we have noticed that there is still a certain lack of awareness from the trade and consumers around how and when to best to enjoy their prized bottles. We are hoping that by engaging some of the UK’s very best sommeliers to share their expertise, it may in turn give further confidence to the trade and consumers eager to learn more about how to enjoy these exceptional wines.”David Guimaraens, Taylor’s Port Technical Director and Head Winemaker, says: “I am delighted to be able to host and judge such a prestigious competition. We are constantly on a mission to educate Port drinkers on how best to enjoy these iconic wines and what better way to do so than by engaging some of the greatest palates in the UK.”