Fabulous at 50: Decanter celebrates a milestone anniversary

More than 200 of the wine world’s movers and shakers raised a collective glass on 9 May to toast Decanter‘s 50th anniversary.

From a magazine that began in a leaky shed near London’s Waterloo station in 1975 to being recognised today as the world’s leading wine media brand, there were many achievements and people to celebrate.

And befitting such a lofty, landmark occasion, the party went on well into the night at Landing 42, the capital’s highest event space, 150m above street level in the iconic Leadenhall Building, fondly known as the Cheesegrater.

DWWA judges toasting Decanter‘s 50th anniversary with Bollinger’s Rosé Champagne, which greeted guests on arrival at the spectacular Landing 42 venue. Credit: Ellen Richardson

Decanter’s 50th: An international guest list

In attendance were four Decanter Hall of Fame winners: Piero Antinori, the third recipient, in 1986, Miguel Torres (2002), Eduardo Chadwick Claro (2018) and last year’s winner Susana Balbo.

Representing other recipients were Adrianna Catena (for her father Nicolás Catena, winner in 2009), Cecilia de Lencquesaing-Gentry (granddaughter of May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, 1994) and Jessica Bell (for Robert Mondavi, 1989).

The international guest list was further bolstered thanks to the party being held during the main judging week of the 22nd annual Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Hailing from 35 countries, the majority of this year’s 254 judges took a well-earned evening off, joined by members of the UK wine trade and former and current Decanter staff, including Michael Denton, Decanter’s Account Director for France, who this year clocked up 45 years of service.

The first section of a huge timeline covering 50 years of Decanter history. Credit: Minyi Seo

Milestones and memorable moments

With the glorious backdrop of the London skyline behind her, Magazine Editor Amy Wislocki – who marks her own 25th anniversary at Decanter this year – welcomed guests, and highlighted just a few of the milestones the brand has reached in its five decades.

The brainchild of Colin Parnell and Tony Lord, the first magazine sold to a few London locals for 40p. Today, 556 issues later, Decanter engages readers in more than 100 countries – in print as well as digitally, through Decanter.com, which launched in 2000, DecanterChina.com (2012) and Decanter Premium (2017).

To chart the Decanter journey, giant timelines graced the venue’s walls, spotlighting historical covers, key events and memorable moments. And not forgetting the contribution the wine world’s great names have made to the brand, including Michael Broadbent, who wrote 433 columns between 1977 and 2013, and Steven Spurrier (320 columns, from 1993 to 2020), whose influence also helped shape the DWWA.

The Hall of Fame bar at Decanter‘s 50th celebrations featured iconic wines from 16 recipients of the annual award. Credit: Ellen Richardson

Decanter Hall of Fame winners honoured

Broadbent and Spurrier were also honoured in a special Hall of Fame video reel, which scrolled through photos and magazine covers celebrating each of the 41 recipients to date, from Serge Hochar in 1986 to Susana Balbo in 2024.

Balbo was one of 16 Hall of Fame winners who also kindly donated their wine to a special Hall of Fame bar (see below) to add even more prestige to the 50th anniversary, alongside Bollinger’s rosé Champagne. Decanter’s long-standing partner Riedel and other drinks sponsors Cocchi, Amathus Drinks, Wilfred’s and Anspach & Hobday, ensured toasts continued all evening.

The timeline created for our 50th Anniversary party, as well as more photos, will be featured in our August issue. In the meantime, join us for our New York Fine Wine Encounter on 7 June, and look out for all the results from DWWA 2025, published online on 18 June.

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