Decanter World Wine Awards 2027: Entries now open

Entering its 24th year, Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) is the world’s largest wine competition, with influential results trusted internationally, and entries for 2027 are now open.

For producers weighing where to invest, this year’s edition arrives with a clear message: entering is easier and less costly to prepare for. 2027 brings three bottles per entry instead of four, lower consolidated shipping costs, an early-entry offer and a webinar with the competition’s Co-Chairs once judging is over.

For more than two decades, a DWWA medal has provided trusted, independent recognition, helping wine trade and consumers identify the world’s finest wines. What has changed for 2027 is not the rigour behind that medal, but the ease and cost of entering.

Enter DWWA 2027 here

A global standard for quality

At DWWA, wines are judged through a rigorous, multi-stage process. The initial round determines Bronze, Silver and Gold medals, with Gold-winning wines advancing to further, more exacting rounds for Platinum and ultimately, Best in Show. In 2026, just over 7% of all wines judged achieved one of these top three accolades – a genuinely competitive benchmark – while every Silver and Bronze medal was awarded with the same scrupulous care. A DWWA medal, at any level, sets a global standard for quality and distinction.

For trade professionals and wine enthusiasts alike, DWWA’s results serve as a comprehensive buying guide to the world’s finest wines, fully searchable at awards.decanter.com. Entering is the first step towards placing your wine in that spotlight.

What’s new for 2027

Three bottles, not four

For the first time in DWWA’s history, producers now need to submit only three bottles per entry, down from four. Fewer bottles mean less stock committed, lower sample preparation and shipping costs and a lighter logistical load for producers sending wines from around the world.

The move to three bottles follows a review of the judging process, which found that, for the vast majority of wines, the fourth bottle was seldom used. It is supported by a new partnership with Coravin and does not change the way wines are judged: where a wine progresses through all three rounds, a fresh bottle will be opened for each round, as usual.

During Platinum and Best in Show judging in 2026, Decanter trialled two of Coravin’s preservation systems: Pivot and Sparkling. Together, they ensured that every style tasted during the competition’s second week was covered. The technology will remain in place should an additional evaluation be required in exceptional circumstances.

This reduction forms part of DWWA’s wider, ongoing commitment to lowering the competition’s environmental footprint – an important undertaking at its scale. In 2026, more than 20,000 single-use plastic bags previously used for blind tastings were replaced with reusable cotton alternatives, while more than 1,000 cardboard boxes are now reused each year. Every bottle used during judging is crushed and re-melted into usable glass, and all leftover wine is collected and converted into gas that is fed back into the national grid.

The entry fee holds, shipping falls again

For the third year running, the DWWA entry fee remains frozen at £172, held steady despite continued cost pressures across the industry.

Consolidated shipping, meanwhile, has been reduced once more, to £51, three pounds lower than in 2026 and eight pounds lower than in 2025. It remains a simple and reliable way for producers to get their samples to the UK.

Producers exhibiting at Barcelona Wine Week, Wine Paris and ProWein can also use the fair drop-off service for £32, registering and leaving their samples directly at the fair with no late registration fee.

Enter early, ship for less

Producers who enter their wine samples by 29 January 2027 can benefit from a special offer on consolidated shipping, a time-limited incentive to complete entries ahead of the rush. The principle is simple: the earlier you commit, the more you save.

Straight from the judges

New for 2027, every DWWA entrant will have access to an exclusive webinar with the competition’s Co-Chairs once judging is complete. They will share first-hand insights into what they tasted, what stood out and the trends and styles that excited them most. A live Q&A will then give entrants the opportunity to put their own questions directly to the Co-Chairs – extending the value of a DWWA entry beyond the judging itself.

Feedback for every wine, not just the winners

Feedback remains one of the most practical reasons to enter, and it reaches every entrant – medal or no medal. Every wine entered receives professional tasting notes from the competition’s expert judges.

For producers, that makes an entry something more than a shot at a medal. It becomes a source of consistent, expert benchmarking: feedback that can inform the next vintage, shape portfolio decisions and track a wine’s progress year on year against an international panel of judges.

Recognition that delivers

A DWWA medal has never been an end in itself. For the producers who earn one, it can open conversations: with buyers, with distributors, with new markets and with consumers deciding between one bottle and the next on a crowded shelf. Winning wines gain exposure through Decanter’s editorial and social channels, the DWWA Market Guide, international PR and the brand’s global programme of events and tastings.

Enter DWWA 2027 here

The rigour behind the recognition

Every DWWA medal rests on the expertise of the judges who award it. Each year, the competition brings together more than 240 wine professionals, including Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, buyers, journalists, writers and educators.

Leading them are the Co-Chairs, who oversee every stage of judging and act as its final arbiters, ensuring fairness and consistency across the competition. For 2027, Paz Levinson joins Co-Chairs Andrew Jefford, Beth Willard, Michael Hill Smith AM MW and Ronan Sayburn MS as Resident Co-Chair, succeeding Caro Maurer MW. The role rotates annually, bringing a fresh perspective to the leadership team each year.

An Argentine sommelier based in France, Levinson has judged at DWWA for more than a decade, most recently as Regional Chair for Argentina and the Rest of South America (except Chile). Her former category, which spans Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and beyond, will be led in 2027 by two Acting Co-Regional Chairs. The first is Regine Lee MW, managing director of UK importer Indigo Wines. The second is Eduardo Milan, the Brazil-based wine consultant and former Wine Editor of Revista ADEGA.

They are among 40 Regional Chairs for 2027, each overseeing the panels for their region and ensuring consistent standards from flight to flight. New Regional Chairs this year are:

• Tom Hewson, Champagne (Co-Regional Chair with Charles Curtis MW)
• Sarah Knowles MW, Northern Italy, excluding Piedmont & Veneto
• Higgo Jacobs, South Africa
• Alberto Ruffoni, Spain (Co-Regional Chair with Ferran Centelles and Pierre Mansour)

Meet the full line-up of DWWA judges.

Wines are judged blind and in context, organised into carefully curated flights by country, region, colour, grape, style, vintage and price band, so that every wine is measured against its true peers. It is this combination, rigour in the glass and reach beyond it, that underpins the credibility of every DWWA medal. Find out more about how DWWA judges wine.

Why enter DWWA? Find out more in our entry pack.

Key dates for DWWA 2027

29 January 2027
Early-bird consolidated shipping deadline

26 February 2027
Consolidated shipping deadline

15 March 2027
Entry and payment deadline

See all dates & prices

Enter Decanter World Wine Awards 2027 now

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