Varsity blind wine tasting match


The Varsity Blind Wine Tasting Match is a series of annual competitions in blind wine tasting between the Oxford University Blind Wine Tasting Society and the Cambridge University Blind Wine Tasting Society; the blind wine tasting teams of the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews; and the blind wine tasting teams of the University of Bath and Bristol University. It is sponsored by champagne house Pol Roger. The Oxford/Cambridge competition has run since 1953. The current Oxford/Cambridge convenor is James Simpson, Master of Wine. Will Lyons is a judge for the Edinburgh/St Andrews competition
The winning teams are invited to Épernay, France to visit the vineyards of Pol Roger and compete in an international tasting match against a French university. The taster with the highest individual score wins a bottle of Pol Roger's top cuvee, Sir Winston Churchill. The reserve taster with the higher score wins a subscription to Decanter Magazine. The losing team each wins a bottle of Non Vintage Pol Roger.

Judges

For the Oxford v Cambridge competition there are two judges, one nominated by each team. In 2008 and 2009, the Oxford judge was Jancis Robinson MW, and the Cambridge judge was Hugh Johnson. Past judges have included Jasper Morris MW. The papers are marked anonymously and cross-checked by both judges in order to ensure impartiality.

Winners

Team Overall Competition Oxford v Cambridge
Cambridge including: 1994, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025
Oxford including: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023
Top Individual Tasters
2009: Caroline Conner
2010: James Flewellen
2011: James Flewellen, 152 points
2012: Ren Lim
2013: Tom Arnold and Stefan Kuppen, 140 points
2014: Vaiva Imbrasaite, 195 points
2015: Swii Yii Lim and Yee Chuin Lim
2016: Qian Wang, 173 points
2017: Jit Hang Ang, 143 points
2018: Neil Alacha, 160 points
2019: Emelyn Rude
2020: Gianmarco Luppi
2021: Yee Kwan Law
2022: Emer Jones
2023: Ian Cheung
2024: Victoria Phan
2025: Mikolaj Poplawski
YearWinning teamTop Individual Taster
2013Edinburgh
2014Edinburgh
2015EdinburghMaciej Pajak
2016Edinburgh
2017Edinburgh
2018EdinburghMegan Haines
2019EdinburghYu Jin Ooi
2020EdinburghArthur Ng
2021St AndrewsArthur Ng
2022EdinburghArthur Ng
2023EdinburghJamie H.M. Stuart-Smith