The Decanter World Wine Awards welcome new judges to the 2018 competition.
Andrew Jefford, columnist for both Decanter.com and Decanter magazine, will be joining the chairmanship of the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2018 currently shared between Sarah Jane Evans MW, Michael Hill Smith MW and Gerard Basset OBE MS MW. The four will take on their roles as Chairs of the competition to oversee and lead all Regional Chairs and judges to blind taste wine entries received during judging week.
There are also new Regional Chair appointments for the 2018 competition:
- Jane Anson – Bordeaux Regional Chair
- Karen MacNeil – USA & Central America Regional Chair
- Rod Smith MW – Provence Regional Chair
- Alessandro Torcoli – Northern Italy Regional Chair (exc. Piedmont & Veneto)
See all judges’ profiles here.
Christelle Guibert, Decanter’s tasting director, says: “we are delighted to welcome our new experts to DWWA 2018 to join our excellent judging panel. It’s such an honour to be working with some of the most talented and respected people in the industry and I look forward to welcoming all our judges to the 15th edition of the DWWA.
Steven Spurrier, Chairman of the DWWA since its launch in 2004 will remain as Chairman Emeritus and aid the Chairs in an advisory capacity. Spurrier has been Chairman of the DWWA since its launch in 2004 until 2016.
The 2018 competition is now open for entries at £139 + VAT per wine. Entry information can be found on www.decanter.com/enter.
Judging Week
MWs and other experts judging wines at DWWA 2017.
The world’s most respected international wine experts gather together in London to taste all wines entered into the competition. Over 250 judges joined in 2017, including 20 Master Sommeliers and 68 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 (30 April – 4 May) will see wines given medals up till Gold using the 100-point system. The second week (8-10 May) will see all Gold wines re-tasted to win the Platinum medals by our four co-chairs and a selected eight regional chairs, including Jane Hunt MW, Andy Howard MW, Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, Jasper Morris MW, Peter Richards MW, Anthony Rose, and Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW. The four co-chairs will select the ‘Best in Show ’winners on 9 May amongst the Platinum winners awarded. Our rigorous process ensures each wine is tasted thoroughly.
Under the 100-point system, wines will be commended a seal of approval, or given a bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and best in show award.
