Decanter World Wine Awards 2019 is pleased to announce James Tidwell, MS as new US Regional Chair, and Barbara Philip, MW as Canada Regional Chair
London, England – January 15, 2019 Decanter, one of the most well-respected publications in the wine world, extends a special invitation to US and Canadian wineries to enter its global wine competition. Now in its 16th edition, the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) is the world’s largest and most prestigious wine competition judged by top wine experts from around the world.
Decanter is pleased to announce a new Regional Chair for the USA, James Tidwell, MS. 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. James has been nominated the past five years for a James Beard Foundation Award in the categories of Outstanding Wine Program 2011-2014 and Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional in 2015. He serves on the Board of Directors for a number of associations, including the Court of Master Sommeliers – Americas, the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation, and the Society of Wine Educators.
James’ Canadian counterpart is Barbara Philip MW. She is category manager at BC Liquor Stores and is responsible for selecting European wines for the chain of 197 stores. Her career has included working as a sommelier and wine educator for many years, and she passed the MW in 2007. In addition to her role at BC Liquor Stores, Philip also works as a freelance lecturer, radio columnist and wine judge through Barbariain Wine Consulting, a company she runs with her husband Iain. Philip was first a judge at the 2008 DWWA.
In 2018, nearly 17,000 wines entered the competition from all over the world, with over 60 countries participating. Californian Cabernet Sauvignon dominated the United States’ results in the 2018 Decanter World Wine Awards, winning 6 of the country’s top medals, including the top Best in Show honor for Newton Vineyard’s “pristine, pure and head-turning” Cabernet Sauvignon from Yountville. Canadian wines were awarded a total of 210 medals, from Platinum to Bronze, beating the United States’ final tally of 145 by a significant margin. Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula’s Thirty Bench Small Lot Cabernet Franc won the Best in Show which judges found “beautifully ripened fruits expressed with great purity and poised charm”.
2019 DWWA award-winners will have the opportunity to participate in 17 consumer and trade tastings and masterclasses in London and around the world, including the new Unsigned Talent Tasting for those looking to break into the UK market.
Entry fees are $250 per wine (online entry), if wineries chose to participate in consolidated shipping, the cost is an additional $68 per wine.
Key Upcoming Deadlines:
February 22, 2019 – Delivery deadline for all consolidated shipping depots
March 1, 2019 – DWWA entry & payment deadline
March 8, 2019 – Deadline for direct deliveries to the UK warehouse
April 29 – May 3, 2019 – DWWA Judging Week
May 7-10, 2019 – DWWA Platinum Tasting
May 21, 2019 – Results released to entrants
May 28, 2019 – Full results published on Decanter.com
About The Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA)
Launched in 2004 by Decanter magazine, 2019 is the sixteenth edition of the competition. The DWWA is respected internationally for its prestigious reputation and unrivalled global consumer influence. Co-Chaired by Andrew Jefford, Gerard Basset OBE MW MS, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Michael Hill Smith MW, the DWWA 2019 consists of a panel of over 270 judges, including 71 Masters of Wine, and 24 Master Sommeliers. Wines are organized for tasting by country, region, color, grape, style, vintage, and price, to ensure that wines are judged blind in flights against their peers. For more information, please visit decanter.com/awards
About the 2019 DWWA Judging Process
DWWA has judges from around the world, including Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers, and many of them are the foremost experts in their field. Judging is organized into categories, initially based on region. For example, Champagne will be judged by a panel of Champagne experts. The judges taste wines individually. They know the region, style and price bracket, but they don’t know who produced the wine or the brand name. They then compare notes on the wine and reach a consensus on each wine’s medal.
Wines are judged on their own individual merits. That means it is entirely possible for several wines to receive a Seal of Approval or to be awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold medal in one session. Similarly, another session may yield fewer medals. Under the 100-point system, wines will be commended with a seal of approval, or given a bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and best in show award. For more information on the DWWA judging process, please visit decanter.com/judging
