After a rigorous judging process by top international wine experts, the results showcase record breakers, award firsts and medals for wines across the globe
June 18, 2025 — Results from Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 (DWWA) have revealed countries celebrating record-breaking medal hauls, a competition first for an English sparkling plus success for emerging wine-producing regions.
Celebrating its 22nd year, DWWA is firmly established as the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, renowned for its rigorous judging process. At this year’s awards wines from 57 countries were evaluated by 248 top international wine experts, from 35 countries – including 22 Master Sommeliers and 72 Masters of Wine – the highest in the competition’s history.
Medals awarded at DWWA range from the top-tier 50 Best in Show, then Platinum and Gold (all scoring 95+ points) followed by Silver and Bronze. This year the 50 Best in Show medals represented just 0.30% of wines tasted. Other top medals awarded included137 Platinumand 732 Gold. The awards also feature the Value Gold Top 30 List, which includes quality wines under £15 a bottle.
This year also saw the introduction of a new magnum category, which had been open to Champagne for the last three years but was expanded to include all sparkling wine for 2025. Results were outstanding, with an English sparkling awarded Best in Show, the first time a magnum has been awarded the top accolade. There were also three Platinums (from France and Hungary) and three Gold medals (from France, Italy and UK).
Best performing countries
For awards, France was the best performing country with 187 top scoring medals, including 14 Best in Show, 33 Platinum and 140 Gold. Champagne was the best performing region securing 27 top winners, including three Best in Show medals for vintage Champagnes. The competition’s first-ever Value Platinum medal (awarded to an outstanding wine scoring 97 points and priced under £15) went to Domaines Bonfils, Château Vaugelas V, Corbières 2023 from the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Other European countries also fared well at the awards. Italy took home 138 top-tier medals (95+ points) across all the regions, including two Value Golds in the Top 30 List for Spar, Extra Dry, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore, Veneto NV and Vallebelbo, Le Filere, Langhe, Piedmont 2023.
Spain continues to perform well with Sherry having one of its best years, securing two Best in Show – both from the same producer, González Byass – six Platinum and 10 Gold medals. The country earned a total of 105 top medals including five Best in Show, 16 Platinum and 84 Gold. Best in Show winners included a wine from Ribeira Sacra, the first for the region.
Sparkling wines from the UK impressed once again. The country picked up a Best in Show for a magnum, a first for the competition, together with two Platinum and six Gold medals, taking the total to nine top-tier medals.
Greece recorded an exceptional year with 20 top tier medal winners, including first-ever Best in Show winners from Peloponnese, Goumenissa and Epanomi regions.
Other European countries receiving the top accolade of Best in Show included Portugal with five and Slovenia with one medal for an orange wine.
Australia reaffirmed its global reputation for quality and consistency, winning 80 top-tier medals, including four Best in Show. New Zealand had a good year with one Best in Show, one Platinum and 24 Gold medals.
Wines from the USA posted strong results, with California the leading region for winners. Of the two Best in Show medals awarded to the region, one went to Clos du Val for the second consecutive year with judges commenting: ‘Rarely does a wine from Stag’s Leap leap so gracefully; the result is memorably drinkable’. There were top-tier medals for Oregon and Washington State, while Virginia and Pennsylvania repeated their first-ever Gold medal wins from 2024.
In South America Argentina achieved its best-ever results, with a 50% increase in top-tier medals year-on-year, earning 46 in total: two Best in Show, seven Platinum and 37 Gold medals. Of these top awards, eight were Value Golds (wines under £15), highlighting Argentina as a country offering exceptional value for money. Chile recorded 25 top-scoring wines with two coveted Best in Show medals, one of which marked a first for the Secano Interior region. Uruguay received 14 medals, including three Golds.
South Africa broke records, achieving its highest total of 45 Gold medals since the awards began. There was a first ever Gold for Worcester for a sweet 100% Muscat Blanc – Alvi’s Drift, Nectarinia Muscat Blanc À Petits Grains 2017.
China celebrated a landmark year at the awards with 13 top-scoring wines, including two Best in Show medals, the first time it has received this top accolade.
More results of note
Other countries of note included Japan which showed consistently good results with eight top medals (95+ points). Austria delivered a focused and high-quality performance, winning 21 top-tier medals, made up of two Platinum and 19 Gold awards. Croatia increased its medal haul from last year to 386, the highest medal count ever, with one Platinum and 14 Golds received. Canada secured two prestigious Platinum medals for sweet wines.
There was a first ever medal for Denmark, for Kalum Winery, Steel Brut de Mon 2021,which was awarded a Bronze. Uzbekistan featured for the first time in the competition’s history and was awarded Silver and Bronze medals. For the second consecutive year, Mexico received a Gold medal whilst Armenia returned to top-tier success with three Golds.
Emerging varieties and heritage grapes gained recognition, with Argentina’s first-ever Gold for a 100% Criolla and Italy’s first Gold for Erbaluce di Caluso.
Supermarket wines continue to impress with major UK retailers including Asda, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Lidl and Aldi, highlighting the accessibility of award-winning wines to everyday consumers.
Top 15 countries ranked by total number of medals
| Country | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum | Best in Show | Total Medals Awarded |
| France | 1782 | 1251 | 140 | 33 | 14 | 3220 |
| Italy | 1128 | 938 | 102 | 30 | 6 | 2204 |
| Spain | 1081 | 839 | 84 | 16 | 5 | 2025 |
| Australia | 243 | 320 | 65 | 11 | 4 | 643 |
| Portugal | 266 | 236 | 38 | 9 | 5 | 554 |
| South Africa | 192 | 246 | 45 | 3 | 1 | 487 |
| Argentina | 187 | 195 | 37 | 7 | 2 | 428 |
| Croatia | 256 | 115 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 386 |
| Canada | 212 | 124 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 347 |
| Chile | 175 | 134 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 334 |
| New Zealand | 138 | 139 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 303 |
| United States | 152 | 122 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 294 |
| Greece | 144 | 78 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 242 |
| Slovenia | 122 | 75 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 211 |
| UK | 99 | 80 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 188 |
Other trends
Orange wine continues to be recognised. In 2025 there were 87 medals awarded in total, including the first-ever Best in Show for the category awarded to Vinakoper, Rumeni Muškat, Slovenska Istra, Primorska 2015 from Slovenia, plus one Platinum and five Golds.
Fortified styles have performed exceptionally well this year, earning four Best in Show medals. Sherry and Port went head-to-head, with each style claiming two of those top honours. The category also saw an increase in Platinum medals, rising from 17 to 20, with standout entries from Australia, France (Languedoc-Roussillon), Portugal and Spain.
Nimmi Malhotra, DWWA judge, commented: ‘For a producer, a Decanter World Wine Award medal means recognition. But it’s not just recognition of your peers. It’s recognition that is identifiable by consumers. It’s like being awarded by a whole parliament. A collective decision. The value of that award is just that much deeper.’
DWWA judge and Master of Wine, Tim Marson, added: ‘What makes Decanter World Wine Awards so special is not only the calibre of the judges, the very high quality of the judge’s assessments of the wines, but also the reach they have globally. Areas of specialism covering all major wine regions of the world and the fact that they come from around the world together in London for these two weeks of the year to judge at the biggest wine competition in the world’.
He added ‘Winning a Gold or Platinum award at Decanter World Wine Awards can literally change a producer’s life. The exposure that it gets on a global level… It elevates them on a global stage.’
Visit awards.decanter.com for a full list of winners.
About DWWA
Launched in 2004 and now in its 22nd year, Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) is the world’s largest and most influential wine competition.
Decanter – the world’s leading wine media brand – has a trusted relationship with an international audience of both consumers and trade that sets DWWA apart from other competitions. Sustainability is a key focus for the DWWA team. All plastic and cardboard is collected and recycled, while every bottle is crushed and remelted, ready to be remade into usable glass within 30 days. All leftover wine is also collected, recycled and sold back into the national grid as gas.
About Decanter
Decanter is the world’s leading wine media brand with a total monthly reach in excess of 2 million via its print, digital and social channels. It has a unique place in the world wine market, with authoritative tastings and highly knowledgeable expert contributors making it a must-read, both online and in its high-quality monthly print magazine. Decanter was launched In 1975, making it one of the publishing world’s enduring success stories.
