Awards

Everyone likes to dust off the tuxedo and pick up a shiny award every now and then, and we’ve been lucky enough to win a few in recent years.

2021

IWSC Awards On Trade Supplier of the Year

We're delighted to announce that we have been named the IWSC On Trade Supplier of the Year 2021! All our teams worked non-stop throughout a very difficult year to continue delivering the best service we could to our customers, and we're proud that these efforts were recognised. 

Judges praised our accessible ranges of wines and spirits, our online trainings, and the industry-leading LOCAL app, all of which helped us to deliver a dedicated, tailored service.

 

IWC Merchant Awards 2021 - Wine Educator of the Year (Highly Commended)

IWC Merchant Awards 2021 - On Trade Supporter of the Year (Highly Commended)

2020

Drinks Business Drinks Company of the Year

We have been named the Drinks Business Drinks Company of the Year 2020! All our teams have worked extremely hard over the past year to carry on doing what we do best, alongside implementing a number of new, industry-leading initiatives, and we're proud that our efforts have been recognised. 

Editor-in-Chief of the Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt, commented, "Our winner is a business that has been resuscitated with new owners, new management, new partnerships, and numerous new initiatives. The Drinks Company of the Year is our comeback kid, Bibendum Wine."

Sommelier Wine Awards Merchant of the Year

We're delighted to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious title of 'Merchant of the Year', alongside receiving a phenomenal 276 awards for wines in our portfolio.

This total makes up over 90% of our submissions this year, and includes 50 gold medals and 56 silver. Alongside these, eight of our wines were awarded special trophies in the 'Critics' Choice' and 'By the Glass' categories; a huge achievement given the quality of wines on show this year. Read more about our results here.

Bibendum CEO Michael Saunders says, "Winning the Merchant of the Year award, I amhappy to say for the fourth time in six years, is really down to the hard work and skill of our great Buying team, led by Andrew Shaw, aligned with the wonderful producers we are privileged to work with. We are incredibly proud of the fantastic portfolio that we have built; and are delighted that so many of our wines have been recognised in what proved to be our biggest win yet. It is a testament to how Bibendum continues to evolve, going from strength to strength, which we will continue to do. Our range will never stand still - with a bedrock of suppliers we have worked with for many years, along with many new to Bibendum over recent times, we are determined to offer the very best range of wines available in the years ahead."

2019

The Drink Business' On Trade Supplier of the Year 2019

Our high standards of customer service and adaptability to the modern day restaurant and hotel business were recognised this year, winning On Trade supplier of the year at The Drink Business Awards. Judges noted our outstanding recovery and performance in the last 12 months and were impressed with the breadth and quality of our portfolio.

Sommelier Wine Awards New World Merchant of the Year 2019

Our producers won 32 gold medals at this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards, with 202 medals in total. Judged by leading wine experts and sommeliers, these wines are the cream of the crop and span both the Old and New World from Piedmont to Niagara. 

We are also very excited to be announced New World Merchant of the Year 2019. In the words of our Buying Director Andrew Shaw, "This endorsement of our New World Supply base re-affirms Bibendum’s reputation for having the most exciting, diverse and qualitative range available in the UK On-trade, a portfolio littered with some of the most iconic names, as well as the rising stars. We are incredibly proud to represent these great wines in the UK market".

We have also been shortlisted for the following categories at this year's International Wine Awards:

• Large Agent of the Year
• Wine List of the Year
• On Trade Supplier of the Year
• Rose
• England
• Champagne and Sparkling
• South America
• Wine Educator of the Year

Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards 2019: Sustainable Supplier Award (Highly Commended)

The Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards is the only initiative to honour the achievements of companies in specific areas of sustainability and responsible business practice in the out of home sector and its supply chain. Our commitment to sustainability, through the implementation of green practices and work with the SRA, was recognised as we were highly commended in the Sustainable Supplier Award category.

2018

SWA Merchant of the Year 2018

Andrew Shaw and Chris Losh

Our producers won 25 gold medals at this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards, with 220 awards in total. Judged by leading wine experts and sommeliers. On top of this exciting news we are thrilled to be named this year’s Merchant of the Year.

Andrew Shaw, Bibendum wine buying director, says, “Despite the eventful start to 2018 for Bibendum, our selection of wines has never been better, representing many of the very best producers across the wine producing world. For the Sommelier Wine Awards competition to recognise it once again is a great endorsement to our producers.”

2017

SWA Merchant of the Year 2017

Our wines impressed over 150 On Trade judges at last year's Sommelier Wine Awards, and we were crowned Merchant of the Year at a ceremony at the London Wine Fair.

Andrew Shaw, group wine buying director said, “We are really proud to be this year’s Merchant of the Year at the Sommelier Wine Awards. We work with many incredible producers, whose wines this year received more gold medals than ever before. And it’s not just the top end, Fine Wines that impressed – we also received medals for our entry-level, house wine offers, showcasing the great depth and width of our entire wine range.”

Investors In People

At Bibendum we have a strong set of values in Energy, Innovation, Customer Focus and Team Spirit, with an amazing team who live those values. We are therefore very excited to be awarded with Investors In People (IIP) status. This is not simply a static assessment of where we are, though, and the assessors support us in developing and supporting our people.

2016

IWC Innovator of the Year

Our Market Insights team won us the title of Innovator of the Year in the Business Excellence category for their Consumer Portraits, at the 2016 IWC awards. The judges said, “Bibendum’s Consumer Portraits provide insightful research to ensure that the sales teams and clients are equipped to deliver the right range of wines to their customers, depending on demographic and social mores. This is not an innovation for innovation’s sake but a very good sales tool.”


Sommelier Wine Awards 2016: New World Merchant of the Year

The judges commented, “Another strong performance from the previous year’s winner, with an extremely high number of New World wines in its impressive haul of Golds. While there were pockets of brilliance everywhere, including Champagne, based on the strength of the medals achieved in Australia and New Zealand alone, there is clearly nowhere better to look for wines outside of Europe.”

2015

The Drinks Business Awards: Best Launch

In order to successfully launch sake as a new category, we had to educate our own staff, as well as potential and existing customers. Educational sake booklets were published and made available online to give an overview of the category including the heritage, production process and details on the sakes on our list and how to serve it.


Sommelier Wine Awards 2015: Merchant of the Year

The “judges were impressed with Bibendum's ability to do both Old and New World well – Golds and Silvers were split almost equally between the two – and to mix classical and quirky.”