Taylor’s Port partners with Top 100 Sommeliers 2025 

Fladgate-owned Taylor’s Port has partnered with the creators of the Top 100 Sommeliers list, strengthening the fortified wine producer’s relationship with the on-trade.

Following the teaming up of Taylor’s Port house with Top 100 Sommeliers, the initiative will now be renamed as the Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers 2025.

Launched in May 2023, Top 100 Sommeliers has become a prestigious list of the UK’s most talented wine professionals.

Entrants are assessed by experience, responsibilities, qualifications and accolades. They are judged not on the size of a contestant’s wine list but on the amount of time spent on the floor, their day-to-day buying, management and training responsibilities, and their education.

Lisa O’Donnell, who manages The Fladgate Partnership’s wines for Mentzendorff, says: “Taylor’s Port has a long-standing relationship with the sommelier community, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to further strengthen our support by partnering with the Top 100 Sommeliers Initiative.”

Why Taylor’s?

“Taylor’s Port is a trusted companion of the restaurant industry, enhancing curated tasting menu’s and rounding off exquisite dining experiences since the 17th century,” O’Donnell tells db.

The Port house, she adds, “embodies the close partnership between fine wine and gastronomy, with sommeliers playing a key role in re-telling the important stories and bringing these traditions to a new generation of wine lovers and culinary enthusiasts.”

Taylor’s Port will work alongside existing Top 100 Sommeliers category award partners Saicho Drinks, Pere Ventura Cava, Bangi Wines, Gosset Champagne and Hallgartan & Novum Wines, with the results due to be announced at an awards ceremony in London in June.

Acquisition trail

In the last 18 months Taylor’s has expanded its operations through a set of significant acquisitions, beginning with the purchase of a pan-regional Portuguese producer called Ideal Drinks.

And in March last year Taylor’s also acquired Quinta do Portal, which consists of a winery, large storage facility, bottling line, and a 16-room boutique hotel and restaurant. The purchase of both companies is designed to support Taylor’s goal of branching out into Portuguese table wines in addition to its core Port production business.

Its new partnership with Taylor’s Port Top 100 Sommeliers, will help to keep the brand at the centre of the UK’s hospitality trade throughout 2025 and beyond.

Related news

ProWein 2025 readies to answer 'today’s most important questions'

US drinkers show preference for imported beer for first time

Hallgarten on duty: 'a material impact across our entire portfolio'