Five new state competitions in Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin mark the series’ largest expansion to date
September 15, 2026 — Libation Magazine & Wine, Beer and Spirits Awards today announced the launch of its expanded 2026 Rate the States competition series, inviting wineries from 14 states to compete for statewide and national recognition.
The 2026 lineup grows from nine states to 14 with the addition of first-time competitions serving Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.
“The wine industry in every state has its own identity, growing conditions and story to tell,” said Ian Lovejoy, founder of Libation Awards. “Rate the States was created to give those industries a credible platform of their own. Expanding from nine states in 2025 to 14 in 2026 allows us to recognize more producers while keeping the spotlight on the wineries building wine culture in their home states.”
The complete 2026 Rate the States lineup includes:
New for 2026
- Colorado Winemaker Challenge
- New York Wine Invitational
- North Carolina Wine Invitational
- Ohio Winemaker Challenge
- Wisconsin Wine Invitational
Returning competitions
- Florida Winemaker Challenge
- Georgia Wine Invitational
- Iowa Vintner Challenge
- Maryland Winery Challenge
- Michigan Vintner Invitational
- Missouri Wine Invitational
- Pennsylvania Wine Invitational
- Texas Wine Invitational
- Virginia Wine Invitational
Each competition is open exclusively to professional wineries located within its respective state. Entries will be evaluated through a double-blind judging process by panels that include winemakers, sommeliers, beverage-industry professionals and media personalities.
Libation uses a modified 100-point Davis scoring system that evaluates each wine on its individual merits. Medals are awarded according to score rather than through quotas or forced rankings: Gold for 90–100 points, Silver for 80–89 points and Bronze for 70–79 points. Every wine that earns the required score receives the corresponding medal.
In addition to traditional medaling, participating wineries may earn Double Gold Best in Class, Winery of the Year and Best of Show Bottle Art and Label Design honors. Award recipients also receive support through Libation’s six-tier promotional program, which includes media outreach, social-media promotion, online exposure and marketing resources designed to help producers turn competition recognition into lasting brand value.
Registration and wine samples must be received by Monday, November 2, 2026. Judging will take place November 3–5, 2026.
Competition information, registration materials and individual state pages are available at LibationAwards.com. Questions may be directed to info@LibationAwards.com.
About Libation
Libation is one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent wine, beer, spirits and lifestyle competition brands, generating more than 200,000 targeted engagements across the beverage and lifestyle community. Backed by more than 30 years of specialty event coordination, media and marketing experience, Libation produces more than 20 competitions annually at the state, regional and national levels. Its mission is to modernize the competition landscape through fair judging, meaningful recognition and strong promotional support for award-winning producers.
