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Shot from Burgundy wins top prize at Wine Photographer of the Year awards

The winners across wine categories at the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023 have been announced – with the top prize awarded for a shot capturing a moment of rest for a worker inside a vat on a vineyard in Burgundy

Words by William Morris

'Girl After Emptying a Tank at the End of the Fermentation' by Thierry Gaudillère - the overall winner of 2023's Wine Photographer of the Year prize

French journalist and photographer Thierry Gaudillère has won Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2023 for his shot (see full image below) taken in a fermentation tank at a vineyard in Burgundy. The winning image, of a woman resting after emptying the tank, was selected from three categories in the wine competition, as part of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023 awards.

The award winners were announced via a live YouTube broadcast on 16 May, with TV chef Nadiya Hussain revealing the list of finalists. The common criteria for Wine Photographer of the Year is that all submissions were of ‘beautiful images of all things related to the world of wine’, but they were judged under three categories: People, Produce and Places

Gaudillère took the overall prize and category win in People for his photograph, while Oscar Oliveras came first in the Places category for ‘Pommard Pruning’, a view across a vineyard in Burgundy as a worker burns vine branches from the previous season. British photographer Adrian Chitty prevented Burgundy from dominating as the winning location, with his image ‘The Eye’, captured in the US, taking the top prize in the Produce category.

As in previous years, the judging panel was chaired by renowned food photographer David Loftus, who was joined by a diverse group of professionals including fellow photographers, as well as magazine editors, creative directors, film directors, food retailers and chefs.

Scroll down to view the winners and runners-up across the three wine categories:

People

The winning image of Wine Photographer of the Year award 2023
Thierry Gaudillère's winning image of a woman enjoying a moment's respite after emptying a vat in a vineyard in Burgundy
The Wine Workers We Don't See
Paige Fandrei's photo entitled The Wine Worker's We Don't See, which came in second place in the People category. 'Wine simply would not exist without harvest workers picking America's grapes.'
Uranus and Mark
Sarah Jaeggi came third for this image of a horse, Uranus, and his guide, Mark, who are ploughing a plot in Switzerland whose inclination is too steep for machinery

Places

Pommard Pruning
Oscar Oliveras won the Places category with Pommard Pruning, showing a vineyard worker burning vine branches from the previous season in the Pommard Rugiens vineyard in Burgundy, France
Like a Tropical Cellar
Rodolphe Travel was awarded second prize in the Places cateogry for this image of a cellar in the Languedoc region of France
Iced Vine at Chilworth Manor
British photographer Mick Rock took third prize for this image of an ice-coated vine at Chilworth Manor vineyard

Produce

The Eye
Adrian Chitty's image entitled 'The Eye', showing Chardonnay lees forming a striking pattern at the bottom of a stainless steel fermentation tank, took first prize in the Produce category
Spreading Pomace
Chitty also took second place with 'Spreading Pomace', a photo showing the spreading of skins and stems as compost
Open the Valves
French photographer Lucile Carmet was third in the Produce category with 'Open the Valves'. It's a shot taken during 'pumping over', which consists of sending the must from the bottom to the top of the vat to wet the marc cap and extract all the matter it contains. This image was taken in the Languedoc in 2022.

Visit our curated gallery of images that made the shortlist for the Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2023, or see the full rundown of all the winners at  pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com.