More than 18,300 wines from 57 countries participated in the 21st edition of the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) – and the judging is now still ongoing.
This week (May 6-11) 250 wine experts from 33 countries gathered in London to evaluate this truly world-class wine collection.
One room of four tastings for the judges in their regional panels. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
The imminent results promise to establish definitive global standards, serving as essential reference points and recommendations for wine enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.
what's new
Each year minor amendments to the DWWA's judging protocols are meticulously made, incorporating valuable feedback from expert judges. These adjustments uphold the highest standards of judging excellence, ensuring that assessments are always at their best.
Speaking about the 2024 updates to the Regional Presidents’ Chamber, Co-Chair Michael Hill Smith AM MW said:
“What I like about this competition is that we try to improve everything every year. There was a survey last year and a lot of the information obtained was used to further adjust.
“The only thing that makes this competition different from others is that in a regular wine competition a monosyllabic tasting note is acceptable.” But here, especially for the medal winners, they actually publish what you write.
Michael Hill Smith AM MW presents a summary to a room of Regional Chairs and Senior Judges. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
While descriptive tasting notes for medal winners have always accompanied published competition results, this year all participants, regardless of medal status, will receive tasting notes. This amendment will provide non-medal winners with an idea as to why their wine did not receive a medal, and is for their benefit and understanding only.
Also new this year is that wine tastings have been limited to no more than 80 wines per day (less than 15) to avoid palate fatigue and ensure each wine is thoughtfully evaluated.
72,000 bottles have flown in and are ready for tasting. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
Finally, the judging process itself has been updatedTed. Previously, only wines awarded a gold medal (over 95 points) were re-tasted within the panel for final approval by the co-chair. Although this protocol has not changed, the High Silver (94 points) will now also undergo a co-chairman's tasting for final approval.
In response to a query about this addition, Co-Chair Andrew Gifford explained, “It's striving to get the right result.”
DWWA Co-Chairs Andrew Gifford (left) and Ronan Cyburn MS (right). Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
Who's new?
This year's competition is world-renowned for its distinguished judging panel, featuring a dynamic group of returning experts and emerging talent.
Of the 250 participating judges, 65 hold the prestigious title of Master of Wine, while 20 hold the title of Master Sommeliers. They are joined by renowned wine writers, consultants, buyers, producers, educators and other industry luminaries.
Amanda Wasmer Bulgin, a second-time DWWA judge, is a wine director in Switzerland who oversees the wine program at more than four Michelin-starred restaurants. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
Beth Willard welcomed the new judges to her new role as co-chair alongside Hale Smith, Gifford, Ronan Seaborn MS and Sarah-Jane Evans MW, saying:
“In the last few years, I have worked as regional head in some regions here – Central Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and then Spain. I'm also taking on a new role this year, so I completely understand new people coming in. Hello, I'm sure you're going to have a really great week.
New Co-Chair Beth Willard visits the Central and Eastern European Committee. In the photo: The new joint regional president Wojciech Bonkowski M.W. (left) and Darrell Joseph (right). Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
Traveling from 12 different countries and territories, DWWA's new judges include:
Alberto Ruvoni (Spain)
Anne Jones (United Kingdom)
Catherine Yen (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China)
Demi Li (China)
Dror Native MW (UK)
Eleftherios Hanialdis MS (Greece)
Emily Brighton MW (UK)
Eugenio Egorov (United Kingdom)
Florencia Gomez (United Kingdom)
Ivan Barbeck MW (Switzerland)
Justin Martindale MW (United kingdom)
Lin Liu MW (France)
Philip Rich (Australia)
Reese Bender MW (Canada)
Sarah Muirhead MW (UK)
Svetoslav Manolev MS (UK)
Will Hill (United Kingdom)
William Lowe MW (UK)
Zvonko Herzegovina (Macedonia)
Plus new regional chairs (click below to read our exclusive Q&A)
New Acting Regional President for Chile, Amanda Barnes. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
What then
All 18,000-plus wine entries will be tasted this week to award bronze, silver and gold medals to qualifying wines.
Next week (May 14-18), all Gold Award-winning wines will be tasted again in a second round of judging to raise the best to Platinum status, and then the Platinum wines will be re-tasted again to award the top 50 wines in the competition – The Best In the show.
Gold award winning wines from the first day of judging. Credit: Nick Creeley Hargrave
The results of all medal-winning wines will be published on Decanter.com on June 19, with a new initiative – DWWA Market Guide – It will be launched exclusively for 2024 medal winners on the same day.
In an effort to enhance producers' prospects in the highly competitive UK market, the guide aims to facilitate valuable connections between producers, buyers, importers and key distributors. By promoting meaningful business dialogues, the guide seeks to ensure that more quality wines and producers secure listings that are mutually beneficial to all parties involved.
