Sam Wylie-Harris in The Independent 'Emma Denney, the UK’s Sommelier of the Year 2026, reveals the wines her Claridges guests are favouring this year'

"The world of elite sommeliers demands unparalleled precision, a skill exemplified by the notoriously difficult 'Champagne Pour' challenge.

Emma Denney, director of wine at Claridge’s London, understands the exacting standards of sommelier-specific wine competitions, which feature rigorous technical tests and blind tastings. Trophy winners on the world stage, and with England recording the highest Gold success rate among major producers at the International Wine Challenge 2026 (the Oscars of the wine industry) it’s not surprising Denney says: “I am a big fan of English sparkling."

And working at a very historic, iconic British hotel, this is something I love to promote – and I think England is producing a lot of fantastic wines.

Some of my favourites at the moment are Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée; and there’s another one, The Weyborne Estate, which is much less well known being smaller in size, but it’s outstanding.

She continues. “It has [Weyborne] beautiful complexity, depth, and just provides a really nice alternative to champagne. Don’t get me wrong, I love champagne, and I drink a lot of champagne myself, but I also drink a lot of English sparkling.

Moreover, Denney says guests are enjoying English fizz as an aperitif, a celebratory drink, as well as at private functions and dining room bookings.

Where people would normally have champagne to start – our house champagne is Billecart-Salmon which I adore – it’s been amazing to see more and more bookings starting to select English sparkling as their aperitif to have with canapés.

And because England has, no matter where you are, this racy, bright acidity, I think it pairs beautifully for the start of a meal.” Sam Wylie-Harris, Thursday 16 July 2026