| Simon McMurtrie, chief executive of Direct Wines, was crowned Man of the Year at the 2011 Drinks Business Awards at the London International Wine Fair yesterday.
 McMurtrie,who was presented with the award by Sylvie Cazes, co-owner of Château Lynch-Bages, was praised for his fortitude, determination and for taking one of the UK’s most dynamic retailers out of the doldrums and into £10 million profit to the end of 2010.
Meanwhile Cristina Forner, chief executive of renowned Rioja winery Marqués de Cáceres, scooped the Woman of the Year award for her business acumen, professionalism and her drive to promote her native region of Rioja and its brands.
Waitrose’s Dee Blackstock MW won the Outstanding Contribution award, singled out for her efficiency, receptiveness to new ideas, being an advocate for quality and supporting education and excellence in training.
The eighth annual Drinks Business Awards featured 19 different categories, voted for by a series of judging panels made up of members of the drinks trade.
Read on for the full list of winners…
BEST DESIGN & PACKAGING
Winner – Speciality Drinks for Black Tot
Highly Commended – Stone’s Ginger Joe
BEST LAUNCH
Winner – Gonzalez Byass for Tio Pepe En Rama
Highly commended – McGuigan Classic The Semillon Blanc
BEST TRADE CAMPAIGN
Winner – Bibendum EC1 for the Pop-up Tasting 2011
Highly commended – Rumpus Communications for The Romanian Heroes
BEST CONSUMER CAMPAIGN
Winner – Phipps PR for Rioja presents Tapas Fantasticas
Highly Commended – Heineken, Step into The World of Jacques
BEST LOGISTICS COMPANY
JF Hillebrand
BEST ON-TRADE SUPPLY CHAIN
Tradeteam
RESPONSIBLE DRINKING MESSAGE
Winner – drinkaware.co.uk for the facts about alcohol
Highly Commended – WSTA for Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP)
BEST PR COMPANY
Winner – CUBE Communications
Highly Commended – Frank PR
BEST DRINKS COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Winner – Fever-Tree
Highly Commended – Chase Distillery
THE BEST INDEPENDENT RETAILER/OFF-LICENCE DISPLAY COMPETITION sponsored by Discover the Origin
Rodney Densem Wines
INDEPENDENT RETAILER OF THE YEAR sponsored by Provence Wines
Winner – The Sampler
Highly Commended – Laithwaites Wine
RETAILER AWARD
Winner – Waitrose
Highly Commended – Majestic Wine Warehouse
RETAIL BUYING TEAM
Waitrose
RETAIL BUYER
Matt Pym, Majestic Wine Warehouse
ON-TRADE BUSINESS PERSON
Richard Bigg, Camino Group
YOUNG ACHIEVER
Cat Lomax, Laithwaites Wine
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Cristina Forner, Marqués de Cáceres
MAN OF THE YEAR
Simon McMurtrie, Direct Wines
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
Dee Blackstock MW, Waitrose |
