Decanter awards

You were first a DWWA judge in

The Decanter Awards are the largest and most influential wine awards globally and this year 18, wines were tasted by judges whose tongues must have been made of steel in a rigorous process which ensures fair judging with the drinker and consumer firming in mind. Libby was fortunate to sit down with Co-Chair Andrew Jefford, who has been with the Awards since they were set up 18 years ago, and ask him a few questions on his wine background, preferences and what he thinks of the awards. I felt there should be more, so I started making my own wine with carrots and elderflower and grape juice. It was an interesting process. I was by Hugh Johnson and others and decided to have a go at writing about wine myself. It worked out though!

Decanter awards

The Decanter World Wine Awards is the largest wine competition in the world. More and more countries enter every year and sees 57 of them put forward their wines to be judged by over wine industry heavyweights over the course of two weeks. As I arrive at Excel CentrEd to see behind the scenes of the judging process — where the magic happens — I marvel at how unceremonious it all seems. Perhaps inside the judging rooms is a different story? Instead of bustling rooms of excitement, the rooms are quiet, serious and sedate. The judges are concentrating, swirling, spitting, frowning, furrowing. Just then, I am greeted by Sarah Jane Evans MW for my interview with her, who is positively beaming, and announces that a wine from a rather surprising country has just been scored as gold. A flurry of excitement ripples through the group and I glimpse it: the magic of a new discovery. Because of her special interest in Spain and sherry, she was promoted to be a regional co-chair for Spain, the biggest producing country at the DWWAs. Then, last year Decanter decided to appoint three co-chairs, of which they asked Sarah to be one. Going from one specialist area to covering it all has been a fascinating experience for Sarah. We have quite a lot of winemakers here, as well as other people involved in the industry, so you get a much better picture.

Last News. It is a globally respected and recognised benchmark across the world. There was good social distancing within, and excellent decanter awards to mask-wearing.

I spent three fulfilling days last week chairing the Burgundy panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards. The competition has flourished over the 10 years since its inception, and now attracts over 14, entries for the various teams to taste. One significant change is the move to writing notes on iPads which, allowing for some teething problems, worked superbly well. I particularly enjoyed inputting notes through the iPad, since that is what I do these days when tasting in cellars, and at least I can read what I have written afterwards. The change of venue to Tobacco Dock was also an unqualified success — or would have been if the tube strike had not put obstacles in our way.

After a month of judging, the long-anticipated results of the 17th edition of the Decanter World Wine Awards are out now. Discover which wines have been awarded what in the competition. We saw plenty of wines from those three vintages. Italy demonstrated its breadth of quality wine production with a total of 2, medals awarded, and followed France with eight Best in Show medals from Piedmont, Trentinto-Alto Adige, Tuscany, Umbria and Sicily — a number of these produced with lesser-known grape varieties including Lagrein, Kerner, Carricante and Sagrantino:. Australia , closely behind Italy, received six Best in Show medals and 17 Platinum medals. After winning just one Bronze last year, Bolivia received four Silver medals for varietal wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Tannat. Red wines from Israel also performed well, doubling its number of Gold medals from three in to six in , a majority from the Judean Hills. Serbia received its first Platinum medal since the competition, plus three Gold and 26 Silver medals while Croatia also received three Platinum medals following two years without. Relatively small, cool climate wine-producing regions, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg were each awarded more medals than previous years with improving results.

Decanter awards

In just 20 years, Decanter World Wine Awards has grown to become a driving force in the world of wine. The competition saw an influential troupe of wine experts, including 53 Masters of Wine and 16 Master Sommeliers, come together from 30 nations. The 20th edition of Decanter World Wine Awards saw 18, wines judged from 57 countries with the following results: 50 Best in Show, Platinum, Gold, 5, Silver and 8, Bronze medals. From emerging regions, grape varieties and styles, to the unwavering — or wavering — quality of classic wine regions and producers, results for DWWA are in.

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I think for all of us, learning to have the confidence to talk is super important, especially when you come from different countries — building relationships is important before you can judge confidently. I felt there should be more, so I started making my own wine with carrots and elderflower and grape juice. That can work terrifically well and that opens up all sorts of possibilities for sparkling wines from elsewhere. From the moment that the results of the competition are released, people will be looking at them very closely and smart importers will be getting in touch with the winemakers and selling the first wines within three to six months. I wondered whether taste trends in the wine world affected the way the judges receive the wines. Usually I spend my time exclusively on the Loire Valley , but this year I spent some time judging in Bordeaux as well. The Decanter World Wine Awards is the largest wine competition in the world. When Peter Hall started his vineyard, Breaky Bottom, it was a huge risk. Of all the awards out there, we have the largest global reach. The trick is to arrive at a consensus without either any judge being bullied by the others, or the dumbing down of interesting wines to a middle position. Who does it benefit? This year Decanter received over 12, entries of which only 1. Going back to basics makes the most sense.

More than 18, wines from 56 countries were tasted in the competition's biggest ever year for entries with this line-up representing the top 0. This is a first-of-its-kind masterclass which will help you learn what to look for when tasting for top quality, with Decanter World Wine Awards showstoppers from France, Italy and Spain to Australia, the USA and Argentina. Not the least of the fascinations of this Savennieres-Roche Aux Moines, though, is the fact that it manages a chameleon performance in a single glass.

Steven pointed out that Decanter is a consumer magazine so it only makes sense that they give out awards that reward not only quality and value for money but also flag wines that might otherwise be overlooked. It is a concern for all of us and a big challenge for the wine world. As it happens, however, some samples still have not materialised. One of my closest friends is a guy called Peter Hall at Breaky Bottom. The Valencian winery unveils the new, fresher and more contemporary labelling of one of its most representative ranges of wines Finca Hoya de Cadenas, with. I know there has been a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure the judging could proceed in maximally safe conditions. Sarah speaks fondly of the much beloved late Gerard Basset and his role as co-chair. I asked him what is the main aim of the panel of judges when they are judging the wine and he replied that the panel considers each wine in relation to the region, value for money and the quality of the each wine. I also think the human stories are incredibly important. Blog , Bordeaux , Loire Valley. What I found was that the awards were not devised as some sort of wine trade accolade but were begun as a way for consumers to be assured they were buying quality wines in the marketplace.