Rebecca Gibb

Cristal ball

Wednesday 15 September

I have a fuzzy head. It’s no surprise – an evening with Louis Roederer and Cristal flowing will inevitably end in feeling jaded the next day. Happily, I woke up to the pleasant reality that I was now the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year, which alleviated the headache – as did a couple of ibuprofen.

It was my last night in the UK before I head back to New Zealand, and the top floor of the Gherkin (or the Artichoke as my sister called it) is an amazing place to sup Champagne with 360 degree views of London town.

It was made even better when I won the Emerging Award. You work your ass off as a young freelancer to gain credibility – and make a living – and it’s great to gain acknowledgement from the industry. The £1500 prize is also helpful. I have already spent it twice over in my head.

Fellow northerners had a good night. Simon Woods walked away with the International Online Columnist of the Year and Tom Bruce-Gardyne from bonnie Scotland won the Regional title.

Other winners were…the FT’s John Stimpfig for International Wine Feature Writer of the Year,  jancisrobinson.com taking International Wine Website of the Year and The World of Fine Wine taking International Wine Publication of the year.

Back to NZ now with a day in Hong Kong to check out what’s happening in the Asian wine world.

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