Wine Expert Samples and Identifies 25 Wines While Running the London Marathon

Declan Gallagher
·2 min read

Wine expert Tom Gilbey made waves at the London Marathon on Monday, stopping to taste 25 wines along the 26.2-mile course to see how many varietals he could guess correctly.

Gilbey charted his miraculous journey, which he completed in just under five hours, in a TikTok video which has accrued nearly three million views. The fact that Gilbey was able to finish the marathon at all while downing nearly 30 glasses of wine wasn’t lost on a single viewer.

Gilbey got off to a terrific start, properly identifying the first six tastings—a 2018 Pinot Noir from Burgundy; a 2015 Barolo from Nebbiolo; a 2020 Chablis Chardonnay; a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from California; a 2016 Merlot from Bordeaux; and an Australian Shiraz.

The runner began to hit a snag around his eighth sample, though, as identifying the specifics of each wine became more difficult. The various fans stopping to take selfies with Gilbey on the course likely didn’t ease his strain.

But in the end, Gilbey did pretty well as far as on-the-go wine tastings are concerned. He completely guessed seven of the varietals and partially guessed 14 more, meaning he placed either the region or the variety but not both. Gilbey only named four of the tastings incorrectly.

For some, Gilbey’s identification was even more impressive than his physical output. “The running whilst drunk [is] super impressive,” wrote Jessica Terry, “but I don’t think people realize how insane it is how many wines were correct! As a sommelier, I salute you!”

“All the back labels said they'd pair wonderfully with some cheese or gentle marathon,” quipped user Panda, to which Gilbey responded, “Incredible comment 🙏👑.”

Gilbey’s miraculous accomplishment raised nearly $15,000 for the Sobell House Hospice Charity in memory of his mother.

“I just want to say the most biggest fattest thank you to everybody who sponsored me, cheered for me, made me laugh while I was crying, and huge shoutout for the team at Sobell House who I was running for,” Gilbey wrote on social media following the marathon.