The International Wine Challenge

The IWC is where great wines come to be recognised — fairly, consistently, globally.

Founded in 1984, the International Wine Challenge has spent over 40 years setting the world's benchmark for wine quality.
Every year, wines from 50+ countries are judged by 400+ international experts — Masters of Wine, sommeliers, winemakers, buyers, critics and educators — through blind tasting and debate at every stage.

An IWC medal tells the trade, press and consumers:
"This wine excelled under the toughest conditions."

And we don't stop at medals.
We help great wines get noticed, stocked and sold.

Credibility

Blind tasting. Multi-stage assessment. Real-world feedback.


Every wine is blind-tasted by multiple independent judges.
Our judging process — transparent, multi-stage and cross-checked — is recognised globally for its fairness.

Every wine receives detailed feedback, giving producers technical insight and commercial direction, whether they medal or not.

IWC medals aren't handed out.
They're earned.

Visibility

Winning at the IWC doesn't end with a medal — it begins with one.


If you're already represented in-market, your medal is a proven sales tool for importers, distributors and retailers.
Buyers use medal results in-store, online, and across promotions — and the numbers speak for themselves:

● Co-op Great Value Winner: +476% uplift
● M&S Gold Medal wines: +117%
● One Silver Medal wine: +700%
● Medal-stickered wines outsold non-stickered by up to 7×
● Medal-winning wines achieved around 13% higher wholesale prices
(Paroissien & Visser, 2018)

An IWC medal helps your wine win attention — fast.

Visibility for producers seeking a route to market

The IWC Discovery Tasting

Direct access to UK importers, distributors and sommeliers — without flying a single bottle across the world.

Medal-winning wines can be selected by verified UK trade buyers through our secure online sample portal.

Each wine is:

● rebottled into 50 ml aluminium pouches
● shipped directly to buyers
● kept in ideal condition for up to ten days

Buyers taste your wine, see your medal status, read tasting notes, and contact you instantly.
It's hands-on exposure without the travel budget.

→ Find out more about the IWC Discovery Tasting here.

Ongoing Exposure

Medal winners appear across:

● the IWC website
● media coverage
● IWC Insight — our new industry knowledge hub, the IWC trade newsletter
● Wine-Searcher (240M annual searches)

Your results don't disappear after judging week.
We keep your wine in front of global decision-makers year-round.

Opportunity

An IWC medal opens doors — to new markets, new distributors and new listings.


From boutique producers to established global brands, every wine receives equal consideration and a genuine chance to become a Trophy or Champion winner.

Lyme Bay (England)

First winery to win Best English White and Best English Red (2025).

"This accolade is a testament to our team's dedication and the rise of English still wine." — Wolf Sieg-Hogg

Le Grand Domaine (South Africa)

"Our IWC medal didn't just validate our winemaking — it opened doors to sommeliers, merchants and distributors who had never discovered us before."

And we support producers along the way with the most competitive consolidated shipping rates in the industry.

Innovation

As the wine world evolves as we sleep, so do we.


No & Low
The no- and low-alcohol wine category is growing fast — and consumers are demanding better quality than ever. That's why the IWC now judges these wines in a dedicated category, led by specialists who understand how low/no works, what good tastes like, and what drinkers genuinely want. Entering your wines here means they're assessed on their own terms, by experts who know the category inside out — giving producers a trusted benchmark and buyers confidence in what truly stands out.

Icon Wines

For 2026, the IWC introduces Icon Wines — a dedicated space for the world's flagship, ultra-premium bottlings. Judged separately by a panel of elite sommeliers and fine-wine buyers, this category showcases wines of exceptional pedigree, handled and assessed with the precision they deserve. A place for your finest wines to shine — and to be benchmarked against their peers at the highest level.

You can enter both categories by logging in to your entrant account.

Our Purpose

To empower winemakers with credibility that builds trust,
visibility that drives sales,
and opportunity that accelerates growth —
helping the world discover and celebrate better wine.