Red wine stained mouths but very happy… judging at the International Wine Challenge

What an awesome Monday judging at The International Wine Challenge.

I have judged at several competitions, domestically and abroad. However, this was my first time judging at @internationalwinechallenge . I was excited but also a bit nervous!

What is the IWC?

The International Wine Challenge, created in 1984, is one of the wine world’s most respected blind tasting competitions, bringing together over 500 expert judges from across the globe to assess wines on quality alone.

What makes it so intense is the scale and rigor: 70- 80 wines are tasted blind, judged without any producer or price information, and the better-performing wines are re-tasted by senior judges to ensure consistency and fairness. In other words, it’s not just a tasting, it’s a serious, multi-stage evaluation process where only the strongest wines rise through the ranks.

Why it matters?

Having an IWC medal carries real credibility for producers, helps benchmark wines against the best internationally, and all producers are offered feedback from the experts. It also means that if you see an IWC sticker on a bottle, you can be assured of the wine’s quality and value!

Why I loved it:

The whole experience was rigorous yet collaborative. I loved how we were given plenty of time to assess each wine with our fellow panelists and we could each share our thoughts and learn from each other. Everyone there was super welcoming and I could get away with my wacky wine descriptors with no raised eyebrows… but maybe a few laughs!

As Oz Clarke said at the start: “This is collegiate and not competitive. Everyone’s opinion is important and we are here to celebrate wine as well as to judge”

It was indeed a celebratory day of tasting, learning, sharing and catching up with dear colleagues from around the world. It was an honour to be a part of it… for a full list of the winners visit the IWC website.

Cheers guys to celebrating and cheerleading awesome wine!