Why enter your wines into the International Wine Challenge?

Rosie Dunphy

Owner
Coal Pit Wines, New Zealand

"Over the years, we've been thrilled to be involved in the IWC awards. It's such a globally recognized competition, and it has certainly increased our brand awareness."

Tony Harper

Export, Distribution and Administration Manager
De Bortoli Wines, Australia

"De Bortoli Wines see the IWC as one of the most prestigious competitions we enter our wines into, obtaining an IWC medal is the best recognition to facilitate selling and promoting our wines globally."

Madison James

Brand Manager
Joval Wines, Australia

"From use in trade and retail environments, to adding credibility when talking to new export markets, the reputation of IWC and our strong results each year makes participation absolutely essential."

Nick Day

Europe Sales Director for La Riojana co-operative

“We are delighted to have won the prestigious IWC Fairtrade Award, especially as this makes it the second year in a row for La Riojana, something which helps reaffirm the level of quality our Fairtrade wines are delivering on a consistent basis.”

Cat Lomax

Trading Manager, BWS

“We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded two Great Value IWC trophies this year, which is testament to the tremendous work of the entire BWS team at M&S. 2020 has proved a challenging year for us all, I am incredibly proud of our team’s achievements.”

IWC Great Value Champion Sparkling 2020 and IWC Great Value Champion Red 2020 – Marks and Spencer

Leslie Balfour-Lynn

Co-founder Balfour Wines at Hush Heath Estate

"This IWC Award is testament to our team’s winemaking skills in producing exceptional quality small one off parcels of exciting innovative wines, combined with brilliant art on the labels makes me very proud of everyone involved in growing and producing our Balfour Wines here at the Hush Heath Estate."

Balfour Hush Heath, The Red Miller 2018
IWC English Red Trophy 2020, Best Wine in first Year of Production – James Rogers Trophy.

Team Royal Tokaji

IWC Champion Sweet Winemaker 2020

"It is a great honour for our small team to receive the Alois Kracher Trophy for the second time in 8 years. We have huge respect for the rigorous judging of the IWC and we are proud that our wines from the tiny village of Mád have gained such international recognition."

Emilio Lustau

Winemaker, Sergio Martínez
IWC Fortified Winemaker of the Year 2020

“I am proud to receive the Fortified Winemaker of the Year Trophy. My team and myself received from our dear Manuel Lozano a legacy of fantastic Sherry soleras that we had to take care of. This trophy demonstrates that we have been able to continue his legacy. Lustau continues in the forefront.”

Aurelio Montes

Lifetime Achievement Award 2020

"I am totally charmed by this most important award. When you are given a recognition of this level ,just because you have worked hard, with passion in what you love …you may consider yourself a blessed man."

Anne Jones

Category Buyer Drinks, Waitrose & Partners, UK

"We have worked on this together for a long time doing the blending in New Zealand, it’s a demonstration of what we do and how we like to work with our supplier base."

Jonathan Butt

Indevin, New Zealand
IWC 2019 Great Value Champion White

"The IWC competition can help catapult your wines onto the international stage, it increases awareness of your product to a global audience and helps drive sales as ...

...awards deliver added confidence to consumers, as winning a gold medal or trophy within your specific category places the wine on a pedestal which shouts “try me, I’m best in class”, so logically this drives trial. In addition to the outward benefit, for all employees within your own business it delivers a huge amount of pride and reward for the hard work that goes into making the wine, this filters down to all aspects of the business, from vineyard worker to winemakers, it’s a win-win!"

Luís Sottomayor

Winemaker, Sogrape Vinhos, Portugal
Portuguese Red Trophy, IWC Great Value Champion Red 2019

"We are really proud to win this award…but we worked for it! We tried to produce a wine that was easy to drink every day, but with great quality – that’s what we work towards every day, so to win the award makes us try to do better and better."

Find out more 

Júlio Fernandes

Comercial Director, Justino’s, Portugal
IWC Champion Fortified Wine 2019

"It’s great and important for us to win this award, for us it’s a ‘must’ to be in the International Wine Challenge ...


... it’s the third time we have been nominated for this prize."

Graham Nash

Product Development Manager, Tesco
IWC Own Label Awards 2019

"We are thrilled to win this IWC award again, it’s the first time in 3 or 4 years, it’s what we gauge ourselves on, so we are really, really pleased."

See all IWC 2019 Tesco Finest winning wines 

Rosie Dunphy

Owner of Coal Pit

“We are thrilled with the IWC trophies awarded for our ‘Tiwha’ Pinot Noir 2018, and these build on past Coal Pit successes with our 2011 & 2014 Pinot Noir’s which also won gold at the IWC. The Sustainable Trophy is huge for us – we are a very small vineyard and care deeply for our land. I look forward to future generations enjoying the property in many years to come.”

IWC Sustainable Trophy 2020, Coal Pit Wine New Zealand

Birgit Eichinger

Winemaker, Weingut Birgit Eichinger, Austria
IWC Champion White Wine 2019

'It’s a really big honour to hold this prize, not only for our winery but also for the whole of Austria ...

.... to show the whole wine world how amazing and how much potential Austrian wines have – I’m really overwhelmed!'

Benedetta Contini Bonacossi and Beatrice Bonacossi

Winemakers, Tenuta Di Capezzana, Italy
IWC Champion Sweet Wine 2019

'We are very proud to win this award; the wine is made in a very traditional way… We joke that it is the winemaker’s fourth child as she uses so much care looking after the grapes. We are so proud to receive this award.'

Find out more about Vinsanto Riserva, 2011

Regis Camus

Winemaker, Rare, France
IWC Champion Sparkling Wine 2019

"I have been chef de cave for a long time at Charles Heidsieck, and Piper Heidsieck and today for the first time I have won with Rare champagne. The IWC award is a testament to the House, the team and the owner. I’m very proud of this IWC trophy."

Find out more about Rare Champagne Millésime, 2006

Alain Serveau

Winemaker, Maison Albert Bichot

“The IWC is a contest that we appreciate very much. Each year, we present a selection of our wines from Burgundy and have the pleasure of seeing them rewarded with numerous medals.

After winning 3 times the trophy of the best winemaker (twice for the red and once for the white) and also the trophies of the champion red and the champion white, we had the pleasure to receive last year the Len Evans Trophy which is a recognition of excellence and consistency in our wines.

At the beginning of the 2000s we decided to convert progressively our vineyards to organic viticulture. Then we decided to go further in this approach, and we obtained the organic Ecocert certification for our wines starting with 2018 vintage.

So for us, it seemed interesting to present a selection of our organic wines for the 2020 competition in order to confirm whether organic wines could
be considered with the same interest as non-organic wines.

We are very proud to see that all our organic wines have been awarded medals and that one of them even obtained the IWC Organic Trophy. This encourages us pursue our efforts to produce the best wines possible.”

IWC Organic Trophy 2020 – Maison Albert Bichot Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots Domaine du Pavillon 2018