Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2016 winners revealed

Highlights

See all the winners of this year's Decanter Asia Wine Awards, including more than 140 medals for Chinese wines, a platinum best in show prize for Japanese Koshu and strong performances from Australia, France and several other wine producing countries.

Search the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2016 results here

Results of the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2016 (DAWA 2016) are now published on Decanter.com, with Chinese medals also appearing on sister site DecanterChina.com.

All DAWA 2016 results include wine tasting notes and stockist information on where to buy the medal winning wine across Asia, where possible.

See DAWA 2016 results by medal

More than 40 expert judges, including Master Sommeliers and leading palates in the Asia region, judged 2,854 wines during DAWA judging week in Hong Kong last month.

Fifteen wines awarded the Platinum Best in Show medal – the highest accolade.

‘The sole purpose of the DAWA is to recognise and award quality,’ said Steven Spurrier, DAWA 2016 chair. ‘A majority of judges are based in Asia and include top sommeliers and Masters of Wine.’

Decanter’s managing director, Sarah Kemp, added: ‘We gather the finest wine palates from Asia to find the very best wines for consumers.’

Wines that did well at DAWA 2016

DAWA 2016 saw Australia take the lead by scooping two Platinum Best in Show medals; McGuigan’s The Shortlist Riesling 2008 from Eden Valley won Best Dry Riesling and Bird in Hand winery’s Nest Egg Chardonnay 2012 won Best Chardonnay. Australia also won seven Platinum medals.

Australia was followed by Italy with seven Platinum medals and a Platinum Best in Show that went to Tuscany for Best Red Italian Varietals. Tuscany also won another six Gold medals out of 11 Golds for Italy overall.

China performed well this year, with an Icewine receiving a Gold medal and 16 other Chinese wines getting Silver medals – a great result for the country’s emerging wine industry.

China won 142 medals in total at DAWA 2016, compared to 12 medals two years ago.

Japan’s Grace winery also scored a victory for Asian wine. Its Gris de Koshu 2015 won the Platinum Best in Show medal for Best White Single Varietal.

See all Chinese medals at DAWA 2016 on DecanterChina.com

France continued its success from last year’s competition with three Platinum Best in Shows awarded. A Burgundy won Best Pinot Noir, a Champagne won Best Sparkling and the prize for Best Red Rhône Varietals went to a wine from Languedoc-Roussillon.

Spain won a Platinum Best in Show for Best Red Spanish Varietals and also four Platinum medals. Argentina also received two Platinum Best in Shows, one Platinum medal, and five Golds.

Where to taste the DAWA winners

New winners will be promoted at both trade and consumer events this year.

Wine lovers will have the opportunity to taste a selection of 2016 winning wines in Hong Kong at Wine & Dine Festival; in Shanghai at ProWine China, and the Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter on Saturday 26 November; and at a dedicated DAWA Tasting in Seoul. DAWA wines will also be featured at retail stores, restaurants and hotels across Asia.

About DAWA Judging Week

Over 40 top wine experts from across Asia joined our judging panel this year, led by Chair Steven Spurrier, Decanter’s consultant editor, and vice-chairs Ch’ng Poh Tiong, Shinya Tasaki, Gerard Basset MW MS OBE, Michael Hill Smith MW, Andrew Jefford and DecanterChina columnist Li Demei.

Judges gathered together in Hong Kong on 5-9 September to blind taste wines through organised flights.

How the wines are tasted

To enhance the judging process at DAWA 2016, Decanter has given every single wine tasted an individual score.

Wines that meet the required quality are given a seal of approval (commended), or a bronze, silver, or gold medal.

All gold medal-winning wines within each category are re-tasted and a platinum medal is awarded to the best wine in each category.

Each platinum medal winner from around the world is then pitted against each other to win the Platinum Best in Show accolade – a new category level for 2016.