Judging experience is nothing to wine about

A director at Bouquet Little Eaton has been helping a leading wine merchant magazine select its top 100 wines for 2026.

Rebecca Tomlinson was among the independent wine shop and bar owners approached by Wine Merchant Magazine to help blind judge over 1,200 wines to find its top 100.

Judges were given nothing but the region and price and each wine was bagged so they couldn’t see the label.

The final 100 has now been published on Wine Merchant Magazine’s website. To view it, click here.

Bouquet is a wine shop and bar based at Old Hall Mill Business Park, in Little Eaton, on the outskirts of Derby.

Speaking about the experience, Rebecca said: “It was a very long day and I had to concentrate for the whole thing.

“I absolutely loved it as an experience, and I am now looking for a few of the wines to hit the shelves at Bouquet.”