The Volcanic Wine Awards to conclude with a grand celebration at the International Volcanic Wines Conference in New York City on June 18, 2024.
NEW YORK, NY, February 13th, 2023 – Volcanic Wines International (VWI), in collaboration with Wine & Spirits Magazine, is proud to unveil the first annual Volcanic Wine Awards. Set to launch this spring in New York, the awards (complete with scoring) aim to honor exceptional wines grown in volcanic terroirs worldwide.
“The Volcanic Wine Awards is a fascinating project for our team” remarked Joshua Green, Editor and Publisher at Wine & Spirits Magazine. “We often get to taste wines from specific volcanic regions together, but we have never set out to consider the global diversity of wines from the different types of volcanic soils. Working with John Szabo, who has written the book on volcanic wines, is an exciting prospect for us.”
Wines submitted for the awards will be judged blind by a panel of volcanic wine experts assembled by Josh Greene and John Szabo, MS, co-founder of Volcanic Wines International. The blind judging process will ensure impartiality with judges provided only the vintage, variety(ies), and region for each wine. Wines will be assessed independently based on regional expression and objective quality factors. Panel chairs will collaborate to determine awards for Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals, as well as Best In Show categories, utilizing a 100-point scale.
“I’m massively excited about this world premiere Volcanic Wine Awards. It’s an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the best wines within the broad volcanic category, which encompasses dozens of grapes and regions, and even volcanic soil. Judges will be looking for both what links them together and what sets them apart, and ultimately, objective quality will win the day”, commented John Szabo, MS. “And to be collaborating with Wine & Spirits, the leading US authority especially amongst the trade, lends unrivaled credibility to the process and its results. I personally can’t wait to taste through the entries.”
Award winners of the Volcanic Wine Awards will be featured with scores and tasting notes in the Fall issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine and will be celebrated at the International Volcanic Wines Conference (IVWC) in New York City at the Altman Building, on June 18, 2024. In its fourth installment, the IVWC aims to broaden the scope of volcanic wines in 2024, embracing an even more diverse array of countries, regions, and wineries within the volcanic wine movement.
“The Volcanic Wine Awards represents a growth opportunity for the volcanic wine movement,” commented Gino Colangelo, President of Colangelo & Partners and partner in Volcanic Wines International. “We’re honored to collaborate with Wine & Spirits Magazine to recognize these unique wines that offer a distinctive sense of place and appeal to younger wine drinkers who want a unique story as well as technical virtuosity when choosing their favorite wines.”
For more information about submitting wines for the Volcanic Wine Awards click: https://www.
To receive the latest updates, be sure to visit the Volcanic Wines International official website www.
About Wine & Spirits Magazine
Founded in 1982, Wine & Spirits is published four times a year in print, with 24 online Regional Tasting Reports, and read by over 200,000 members of America’s wine community. Wine professionals and consumers alike read the magazine for information on established and up-and-coming regions and producers, the art and science of winegrowing, industry happenings, restaurant openings, and food and wine pairing. Wine & Spirits, the only wine publication to win the James Beard award five times for excellence in wine writing, evaluates more than 11,000 bottlings every year.
About Volcanic Wines International (VWI)
The mission of Volcanic Wines International is to take the leading role in defining and establishing a Volcanic Wine Movement, and to provide educational and promotional opportunities for volcanic wine producers internationally. Volcanic Wines International also plans to establish the volcanic wine brand as a premium category of high quality wines with a true sense of place.
About John Szabo
Master Sommelier John Szabo was the first Canadian to add the “MS” after his name in 2004. He holds the international Wine & Spirits Education Trust Diploma with honors, as well as the Canadian Sommelier Guild diploma. He’s principal critic for WineAlign.com, Canada’s premiere wine resource, and co-host and producer of the podcast Wine Thieves with a global following in the trade. He contributes to many international trade and consumer publications and is currently co-writing a book on wine chemistry. He is a regular guest speaker at events worldwide and has traveled to virtually every wine producing country on earth, (volcanic and otherwise!) in pursuit of fine wine and to keep on top of this fascinating industry. In his spare time, he tends to his new vineyard in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
About Colangelo & Partners
Colangelo & Partners specializes in premium food, wine and spirits brands, and has long-established relationships with the key press that drive these business categories and help determine the industry leaders. Agency principals have years of experience in retail and distribution as well as communications, a rare combination that gives Colangelo & Partners invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior. The agency focuses on “closing the loop” between creative communications programs, distribution, promotion, publicity and the consumer in order to maximize the efficiency of its communications programs and deliver measurable results. http://www.colangelopr.com/
