Decanter Top 50 US Wines
(Image credit: Future)

Starting on 16 November, Decanter will unveil its list of the Top 50 US Wines of 2026, counting down 10 wines at a time over five days. To celebrate the release of the annual list, the publication is giving away a pair of tickets to a 2027 Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) along with a one-year subscription to Decanter magazine and Decanter Premium.

After the Top 10 US wines are unveiled on 20 November, Decanter Premium members will receive access to a curated guide covering 200 additional high-scoring wines – including a spotlight on 2023 Napa Cabernet, top Oregon Pinot Noirs, West Coast Chardonnays and sparkling wines – along with great values for the holidays.

How the US Top 50 is chosen

All of the selected Top 50 US wines scored 95 points or higher in Decanter reviewers’ tastings over the past 12 months. Those scoring 95, 96 and 97 points are outstanding wines of great complexity and character; those scoring 98 points and above are exceptional, profound wines.

For this list, Decanter’s team chose particularly compelling wines that reflect the vast diversity of US-produced wines released in the past year. The selections represent great vintages, rising regions, standard bearers, grand cru-level sites, superior winemaking and vineyard practices, and inspiring stories of people dedicated to achieving the best in wine.

New features for the 2026 list

Visitors to www.decanter.com will be able to see full reviews of each of the 50 wines, including the score and tasting note, along with additional details about why Decanter found the wine to be an exciting representation of the US wine scene today.

Readers in the US and UK will also be able to enter the giveaway simply by providing their name and email address. Two runners-up will also each receive a year-long subscription to Decanter Premium.

The Top 50 list is intended to serve as a guide for wine lovers, pointing them to wineries, regions and wines to seek out now or follow in future vintages.

Some of these wines are tightly allocated, only available via mailing list, to winery club members or at select wine-focused restaurants. In this current buyers’ market, now is the time to sign up to secure allocations of future vintages.

Other wines on the list have national or international distribution, or are readily poured for tasting-room visitors – a good reason to add those wineries to the itinerary for any upcoming wine-country visits.

The bonus Premium lists expand the recommendations for wine lovers, covering 200 more wines to buy for holiday entertaining, give as gifts or cellar for future enjoyment. Visitors who sign up for a Decanter Premium membership in November will receive a 20% discount off a full-year subscription, using code TOPUS2026.

To make sure you don’t miss a day of the countdown, sign up for reminders through our free Decanter Daily newsletter and the weekly Decanter North America.

Decanter_top50_us_wines_RGB_600x600_2.jpg

Decanter’s Top 50 US Wines of 2025

Wines of the Year 2025

Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2025

decanter hall of fame and rising star 2026 award winners

Decanter Hall of Fame and Rising Star 2026
Dana Nigro
Dana Nigro
North America Regional Editor

A longtime U.S. wine writer, New Jersey–based Dana Nigro joined Decanter in June 2026. Previously, she spent more than 25 years with Wine Spectator in New York City, as news editor, then senior editor and digital managing editor.

She fell in love with wine while studying journalism in New York’s Finger Lakes region, where she took advantage of the excellent wine program at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

While reporting on U.S. wine, Nigro covered the battle to legalize direct shipping up through the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Granholm v. Heald, the rise of women in California’s wine industry, and sustainability in wine, including the evolution of West Coast winegrowing from its early certifications to its movement toward regenerative farming.