The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British

oenologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

Anton Massel. Each year the competition receives entries from over 90

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

worldwide. The awards given by the competition are considered as high honors in the industry. The event occurs annually in November, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Only products which pay the entry fee of £140 per category are judged, and three/four bottles of each product must be supplied. Depending on the points out of 100 awarded, submitted products can receive gold outstanding, gold, silver outstanding, silver, or bronze awards, and there are no limitations on how many of each which can be awarded. There is also an extensive range of trophies each year.

Judging

The judging process consists of

blind tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

and panel discussion. Entries are judged by panels drawn from 250 specialists from around the world.

Judging processes

The competition has its own purpose built premises including temperature controlled cellars, tasting rooms and regular staff. In 2019, IWSC wine judging moved to London for the first time. The competition has its own storage facilities and cellaring for over 30,000 bottles. It takes over six months to judge all the products as they are sorted into over 1,500 categories. The categories divide the entries by several factors: region or area; variety, style, or type; vintage or age; and similar characteristics. Wines and spirits that win awards go forward to the national or international level. The competition makes use of over 250 specialist judges from all over the world. Many are Masters of Wine, some are

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

s or

distiller Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

s, others are trade specialists, each judging in their special field. All judges attend an IWSC judges induction course.

Annual IWSC banquet

The competition culminates in London in November with the annual awards presentation and banquet, at the City of London Guildhall.

Presidents

A president is selected annually from influential individuals in the wines and spirits industry. After their term, they serve on the competition’s Advisory Board. * 2020 Tamara Roberts, UK * 2019 George Fistonich, New Zealand * 2018 Facundo L. Bacardi * 2017

Chris Blandy Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

, Portugal * 2016 Matteo Lunelli, Italy * 2015 Neil McGuigan, Australia * 2014 Dr Laura Catena, Argentina * 2013 G. Garvin Brown IV, USA * 2012

Mauricio Gonzalez Gordon Mauricio may refer to: * Mauricio (given name) *Maurício José da Silveira Júnior (born 1988), Brazilian footballer known by the mononym Maurício *Maurício (footballer) (Maurício dos Santos Nascimento, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *216428 ...

, Spain * 2011 Prince Robert of Luxembourg, France * 2010

Prinz Michael zu Salm-Salm Prinz is a German title that translates into English as "prince", see also ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince). Prinz may also refer to: * Prinz (brand), a brand formerly used by the British photographic and electronics retail chain, Dixons * NSU Prin ...

, Germany * 2009 Sir Ian Good, UK * 2008

Rafael Guilisasti Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

, Chile * 2007

Gina Gallo Gina or GINA or ''variation'' may refer to: Gina Gina may refer to: * Gina (given name), multiple individuals * Gina (Canaan), a town in ancient Canaan * Arihant (Jainism), also called gina, a term for a human who has conquered his or her inner p ...

, USA * 2006

Anthony von Mandl The following list of Canadians by net worth includes the wealthiest Canadian individuals and families as determined by the ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'' and ''The World's Billionaires'' by ''Forbes''. In addition to Bloomberg and ''Forbes'', th ...

, Canada * 2005

Wolf Blass Wolf Blass is an Australian winery based in Nuriootpa, South Australia Nuriootpa ( ) is a town in South Australia and the major commercial centre of the Barossa Valley, about an hour's drive north of the state capital, Adelaide. The name of ...

, Australia * 2004

Paul Symington Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Portugal * 2003

Claes Dahlbäck Claes Åke Gustaf Dahlbäck (born 6 June 1947) is a Swedish businessman. Biography He received an M.Sc. and a PhD in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. In 1973, he joined Investor AB as an analyst in New York City. From 1978 to 19 ...

, Sweden * 2002

Dominique Hériard Dubreuil Dominique Hériard Dubreuil (born in 1946) is a French businesswoman. She has been CEO of Rémy Cointreau since 2001 and chairman of the board of directors since 2004. According to ''Fortune'' 2008, she is the 42nd most influential businesswoma ...

, France * 2001

Warren Winiarski Warren Winiarski (born 1928) is a Napa Valley winemaker and the founder and former proprietor of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Winiarski owns and operates Arcadia Vineyards in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley, which produces Chardonnay, Cabernet S ...

, USA * 2000

Baroness Philippine de Rothschild Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

, France * 1999 Miguel A. Torres, Spain * 1998 Sir Anthony Greener, UK * 1997

Jean Hugel Jean "Johnny" Frederic Hugel ( September 28, 1924 - June 9, 2009) was an Alsatian wine producer, described by wine expert Tom Stevenson as ''"the single most important person in the development of Alsace wine industry throughout the 20th century." ...

, France * 1996 Dr.Anton Rupert, South Africa * 1995

Marchese Leonardo de Frescobaldi A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

, Italy * 1994

Michael Jackaman Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, UK * 1993 Mme May de Lencquesaing, France * 1992 Chris Hancock Hon MW, Australia * 1991

Peter Sichel Peter Max F. Sichel (born September 12, 1922) is a German-American wine merchant and former operative of US secret services, who created the Blue Nun wine brand, for a while the largest international wine brand in the world. Prior to this he ran t ...

, USA * 1990

Robert Drouhin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, France * 1989

Jos Ignacio Domecq Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. During British ...

, Spain * 1988 Marchese Piero Antinori, Italy * 1987

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as ''The Reluctant Dragon (short story), T ...

, UK * 1986 Dr.Max Lake, Australia * 1985 Marquis de Goulaine, France * 1984 Mme Odette Pol Roger, France * 1983 Robert Mondavi Hon MW, USA * 1982 Dr. Hans Ambrosi, Germany * 1981 Harry Waugh Hon MW, UK * 1980 Peter Noble, CBE * 1979 Cyril Ray, UK * 1978 Sir Reginald Bennett VRD, UK * 1977

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (, Engl. pronunciation: "bewley", from French ''beau'', "beautiful" and ''lieu'', "place"), in the County of Hampshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative pol ...

, UK

References

External links

Official website
Wine tasting Wine-related events Distilled drinks Wine awards Awards established in 1969 Recurring events established in 1969