The judging process

As Decanter marks a significant anniversary this year, our annual quest for the best via the Decanter World Wine Awards is as rigorously pursued as ever, and the competition’s top award-winning wines continue to become more diverse and fascinating with each edition. Our Contributing Editor and awards Co-Chair breaks down the 2025 results and reveals some of the highlights and discoveries among wine regions old and new

The annual DWWA competition is a gathering point for many of the most knowledgeable and experienced experts in the world of wine. Our Co-Chairs, Regional Chairs and extensive roster of judges are central to the competition’s success

Setting the scene 3 Welcome Plus, how ...

After two intense weeks of blind tasting by top wine professionals from around the world, all 137 Platinum medal winners were re-examined by the five DWWA Co-Chairs. This resulted in the following 50 wines being promoted to the prized status of DWWA Best in Show for 2025

A wine that receives a Platinum medal in the DWWA has triumphed in multiple stages of judging by different panels, and reassessment by our Co-Chairs. In 2025, this status was achieved by 137 wines of impeccable quality, introduced in the pages that follow

The first week of judging this year produced an impressive 920 Gold medal winners. Of these, 187 were elevated to a Platinum award (see p49), of which 50 then became Best in Show winners (p29). That left us with a pleasingly high return of 733 Golds – which we present in the following pages