New Competition Featuring Younger Judges Makes History
September 8, 2026 (Santa Rosa, CA) — In August 2026, a cadre of wine professionals, all aged 39 or younger, gathered to taste wines and render judgement. Dubbed the Next Gen International Wine Awards, the goal was to acknowledge and elevate the different ways younger generations celebrate and enjoy wine.
“Next Gen International Wine Awards is a new competition, based on the idea that younger consumers are looking for different experiences with wine,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, owner and manager of Wine Competitions Management & Productions, which organized and produced the contest. “The competition identified wines that can meet these audiences where they are, both in terms of familiarity and taste.”
“I appreciate the concept behind Next Gen,” says Gianna Fugazi, who served as Chief Judge for this inaugural outing. Fugazi, an experienced winemaker and industry consultant, finds context in the Next Gen results by comparing them to competitions where judges aren’t age-segregated.
“[Younger consumers] may be looking for ‘affordable’ choices, but we also celebrated some pretty high-end wines. It’s not always about the price point; sometimes it’s about the story. [We] want to know about the decisions behind the wine — ingredients, sources, techniques. We want transparency as well as cost.”
A 2022 Russian River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Merriam Vineyards in Healdsburg, Calif., took top prize. Says Merriam GM Ken Blair, “Even though our estate vineyard is in a warmer pocket of the Russian River Valley, it still gets the moderating coastal influences that the entire valley sees. I believe that this location provides an ideal growing environment for a cooler climate Cabernet that shows both depth and restraint. It’s more about nuance and complexity than over-the-top showiness.”
JB Grace of Luxury Wine Estates, who served as Assistant Chief Judge for the competition, says, “Those of us who have spent decades in the industry were trained with certain benchmarks for what a wine should be — varietally, stylistically and technically. What I found fascinating was that these judges seemed less constrained by those traditional parameters. They were curious about wines with unexpected edges, distinctive character and styles that didn’t necessarily fit neatly inside the box.
“It reminded me that different doesn’t mean wrong. If we want to understand the next generation of wine consumers and professionals, we need to understand what resonates with them rather than expecting them to experience wine exactly as we have.”
It’s this new appreciation for wine that the competition celebrates — and the top results (below) showcase many of these differences. Further, winning wines have been divided between Prestige (>$25) and Classic (<$25) price points, giving even more curious consumers a way to enter the wine world without pretense.
“We entered the competition because we were intrigued by the mission to reach out to younger wine consumers,” says Merriam’s Blair. “It will be fun to see how our customers respond to [this win]. We will certainly include this wonderful accolade in our next newsletter and promote to our audience on Instagram. I am curious to see if the wholesale market responds.” “In the end, it’s about figuring out how to get the next generation of consumers to pay attention [to wine],” says Fugazi. “It should be enough to simply say, ‘I like it.’”
About Wine Competitions Management & Production (WCMP)
WCMP owns and operates a variety of competitions including Sunset International Wine Competition, West Coast Wine Competition, International Eastern Wine Competition, East Meets West, International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition, Harvest Challenge, the Craft Distillers Spirits Competition, Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge, and Experience Rosé. www.winecompetitions.com
About Next Gen International Wine Awards
The Next Gen International Wine Awards is a first-of-its-kind competition created to help wineries understand, reach, and connect with the next generation of wine drinkers. While most traditional competitions are judged by long-established industry professionals, this program is evaluated exclusively by wine experts under 39 — the winemakers, sommeliers, buyers, writers, and influencers who are actively shaping what younger consumers drink today and what they’ll be drinking tomorrow. nextgenwineawards.com
