Awards Categories: Recognising Excellence

At the International Wine Challenge (IWC), winning a medal is not just an accomplishment; it's a testament to the exceptional quality of your wines. Following the IWC Medal results each year, a diverse range of awards and accolades are announced, celebrating excellence in various categories.

Sub-Regional, Regional and National Trophies

All Gold medal-winning wines automatically qualify for the IWC Trophy judging.
During the Trophy judging, our Co-Chairs identify the top wine in each sub-region to award sub-regional Trophies.
These sub-regional Trophy winners are then pitted against each other to find the regional Trophy winners.
Finally, the regional Trophy winners compete to decide the winners of the national Trophies.

International Trophies

International Trophies follow a similar judging process to regional Trophies but focus on varietals.
For instance, all National Pinot Noir Trophy winners from around the world will compete to find the International Pinot Noir Trophy winner.

Champion Wine Trophies (red, white, rosé, sparkling, sweet, fortified)

The Champion Wine Trophies are awarded to wines that are considered 'best in show' in that particular IWC year.
All of the national Trophy winners will be pitched against each other to find the Champion Wines in the categories of red, white, rosé, sparkling, sweet and fortified.

Planet Earth Awards (Biodynamic, Fairtrade, Organic, Sustainable)

These accolades are won by wines that have been awarded a Trophy or Gold medal in the competition and are certified as sustainable, organic, biodynamic or Fairtrade. Entrants must complete the certification question in the wine entry form and be able to produce official certification upon request by the IWC.

Winemaker of the Year Awards

The IWC collates data from the results of the competition, analyses and scores it to determine the winners of the Winemaker of the Year Awards. Producers are awarded points for each wine entered into the competition that have won a Trophy, Gold, Silver, Bronze Medal or Commended Award. Points are deducted for wine submitted into the competition that did not win an award. The results are then weighted based on the volume of entry and finally given an average score per wine.

The IWC Winemaker of the Year Award is awarded to the company initially, but we identify the Head Winemaker (or owner) as the recipient of the prize.

Great Value Awards

IWC Great Value Awards are given to wines that win a Gold or Silver Medal and meet specific volume, availability and pricing criteria. The IWC will announce the Great Value Trophy winners and the Great Value Champions for the categories of red, white, rosé, sparkling, fortified and sweet following the medals announcements.

To be considered for this award, the wines must be available in the UK and the ‘Production and Retail’ section has been completed accurately, including the UK Retail Price.

IWC Own Label Range of the Year

Wine produced by or made exclusively for and carrying the retailer name on the front or back label will qualify for this award. This will include specifically named wines under a brand name used by the retailer and multiples of the brand extension. I.e. all ranges within the own label classification will count towards the total.

A minimum of 50 wines within the range must be submitted and judged by the IWC.

Points are awarded for Trophies, Great Value Awards, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Commended Awards and bonus points are awarded for the number of different countries submitted into the IWC from within the range. The scores are then averaged to find an average wine score across the wines submitted.

For the importance of clarity if a wine is not exclusive in the UK to the retailer, i.e. the wine is sold under another label by someone else, it will not qualify as an IWC Own Label Wine. The wine must be unique to that label or retailer.

Special Awards

These awards aim to recognise excellence in the global wine trade. The Len Evans Trophy is awarded to companies which have consistently excelled in the IWC over the past five years.

The Best Wine in First Year of Production Trophy is given to the best new wine entered into the competition in its first year of production. To be in with a chance of winning the Best Wine in First Year of Production Trophy it is important that producers complete the 'Production and Retail' section of the entry form.

The IWC Personality of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards also fall into this category. These awards are bestowed on those people within the trade that have shown dedication and commitment beyond the norm and have made a real difference to the global wine industry.

Join us in celebrating excellence, and discover the incredible diversity and dedication in the world of wine at the IWC.

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