43rd Annual · October 8, 2026 · The Pierre, New York
Hosted by Marvin R. Shanken, Chairman of M. Shanken Communications, the Leaders Awards honor the most progressive wine and spirits merchants in North America. Meet this year's class and read every profile from the Leaders 2026 issue.
Save the date
44th Annual Leaders Awards
October 7, 2027 · New York City
Eleven retailers from six companies join the Leaders class of 2026, alongside this year's Retailer of the Year and two Alumni Award winners. Every profile is from the Leaders 2026 issue.
Chad Sokol keeps Costco’s multi-billion-dollar beverage alcohol business thriving with a tightly curated, constantly rotating “treasure hunt” assortment anchored by the Kirkland Signature label. Fifteen years after Costco was first named Retailer of the Year, the warehouse giant earns the top honor again under his leadership.
read articleThe fourth generation of the family behind ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is taking the 127-store Florida chain beyond its home state for the first time, with new superstores, a modernized technology stack, and the recent acquisition of Applejack Wine & Spirits in Colorado.
read articleSon of former Retailer of the Year Gary Fisch, Mike Fisch has brought financial acumen and a flair for technology to the three-store New Jersey retailer, growing online sales to 20% of revenue and launching Samplii, a sampling-event platform now rolling out to the broader industry.
read articleA second-generation retailer who has worked nearly every job at Yankee Spirits, Meghan Cimini-Jones now leads the four-store, $60 million Massachusetts chain, following her father, the late Don Cimini, and her brother Michael as a Market Watch Leader.
read articleIn a little more than two years, Olivier Kielwasser and Kristen Bennett have turned the beverage alcohol department at the 172-store specialty grocer from a declining category into one seeing weekly year-over-year growth, with cross-merchandising, private-label wines, and a fast-tracked THC beverage program.
read articleSince taking the helm of the largest online-only wine retailer in 2024, Mark Pinho has shifted Wine.com from “growth at all costs” to long-term sustainability, fixing pricing, adding storage and timed delivery, and refocusing the site on the customer rather than the bottle.
read articleAnuj Mittal helped scale his family’s Zipps Liquor chain from eight stores to 38 across Houston and East Texas, building a “Trader Joe’s of the liquor world” that wins on pricing, selection, and convenience, with more acquisitions ahead.
read articleA 2018 Market Watch Leader, Adam Acquistapace earns the Best Marketing Award for community-first events like the Cheese Extravaganza, a weekly television segment, and a world-class wine and spirits shop built inside the family’s Louisiana grocery stores.
read articleAfter losing his son Stewie in 1989, Stew Leonard Jr. and his wife, Kim, built the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation, which has raised more than $8 million and donated over 300,000 swim lessons through its Stewie the Duck swim schools.
read articleThe year's standout brands, new products, and the executive who reshaped the second tier, as chosen by Market Watch.
Scenes from the Leaders Awards dinner at The Pierre, New York. Tap any photo to enlarge.
The Leaders 2026 awards, lined up and ready for presentation at The Pierre
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Seven years of Market Watch Leaders. Open the 2026 issue to read this year's profiles, or revisit 2024 and 2025 in the digital edition.
Questions about the Leaders Awards, the 2026 issue, the October 7, 2027 event, or media requests? Send a note and the Market Watch team will get back to you.
