The International Wine & Spirit Competition opens nominations for the Blogger of the Year 2015, sponsored by Gonzalez Byass

The International Wine & Spirit Competition opens nominations for the Blogger of the Year 2015, sponsored by Gonzalez Byass

With a closing deadline of May 6th, the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) has commenced their search for ‘Blogger of the Year.’ The IWSC has given the public the opportunity to nominate candidates for the award.

Gonzalez Byass, the award sponsor, is one of the most recognised Spanish wine brands, demonstrating excellence in production, innovation, and communication. With that in mind, for the fourth year, the award recognises an individual who has positively influenced public awareness and interest in wines and/ or spirits in the last 12 months through a blog.

Last year the award was won by Fiona Beckett, one of the UK’s leading experts on food and wine matching, a wine columnist for the UK’s top newspapers and magazines, and the author of 23 books on food, wine and beer. Past winners include, Jamie Goode, Helen McGinn and Madeline Puckette.

The Competition is now open for entries, submit nominations online at www.iwsc.net/blogger_nominations , or email to Louise Boltonlouise.bolton@iwscgroup.com .

After nominees have been selected, a panel of expert judges will make the final decision. The judging criteria involves quality of engagement, blog reach, feedback generated and interaction, overall quality of content and the range of media used (pictures, videos, text).The winner will be announced at the prestigious IWSC Awards Presentation and Banquet on Thursday 26th November at London’s Guildhall.

2013 award winner Madeline Puckette on winning the award; "When it comes to building a brand having credibility is really important. Why? Well, it gives your best customers validation that they're not the only ones who think you're special. After putting the IWSC award credit on the front page of our site we noticed Wine Folly followers began spreading our story more through word of mouth. I haven't been able to get control of my email inbox ever since. "

Notes to editors;

• The International Wine and Spirit Competition was founded in 1969 and is the premier competition of its kind in the world. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world's best wines, spirits and liqueurs. All entries are blind tasted in groups divided by variety, region and vintage as necessary.
• IWSC has appointed Neil McGuigan as the 2015 president.