The 2019 competition sees the appointment of four new Regional Chairs.
The chairmanship for the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2019 is currently shared between Sarah Jane Evans MW, Michael Hill Smith MW and Andrew Jefford.
Andrew Jefford, Decanter columnist and blogger, says: “We pride ourselves on getting specialist judges that really understand each region and who can appreciate local nuances, grape varieties and practices”.
Regional Chairs oversee their respective panels, settle any score discrepancies, and re-taste all Silver and Gold winners for consistency.
There are four new Regional Chair appointments for the 2019 competition:
Jeannie Cho Lee MW – Burgundy (excluding Beaujolais) Regional Chair
Jeannie is an author, wine critic, judge and educator as well as the first Asian Master of Wine.
James Tidwell MS – USA & Central America Regional Chair
Tidwell is beverage manager at Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas and is co-founder of TEXSOM, the premiere sommelier education conference in the world.
Peter Liem – Champagne Regional Chair
Liem is an American wine writer and author of ChampagneGuide.net, an award-winning online guide to the wines and wine producers of Champagne.
Barbara Philip MW – Canada Regional Chair
She is category manager at BC Liquor Stores in Canada and is responsible for selecting European wines for the chain of 197 stores.
Steven Spurrier, Decanter’s consultant editor, will remain as Chairman Emeritus for the 16th edition of DWWA.
The 2019 competition is now open for entries at £148 + VAT per wine. Entry information can be found on www.decanter.com/enter.
Judging Week
Gold seal of approval…Credit: Decanter / Steve Howse
The world’s most respected international wine experts gather together in London to taste all wines entered into the competition. Over 270 judges joined in 2018, including 24 Master Sommeliers and 71 Masters of Wine. Only the very best palates in the world are invited to judge at the DWWA.
This year, judging week will take place over two weeks. The first week (29 April – 3 May) will see wines given medals up till Gold using the 100-point system.
The second week (7-10 May) will see a panel consisting of Co-Chairs and Regional Chairs re-taste all the Gold winners and award Platinum medals to the wines they deem worthy.
The competition then culminates in a final tasting of Platinum winners by the three Co-Chairs where the ultimate accolade of ‘Best in Show’ is given to the finest wines of the DWWA.
