IWSC announces first release of 2019 winners

• Results revealed for Asia, Eurasia, Middle East, Europe (excluding Italy, France, Spain, Portugal), and North & Central America at London Wine Fair on 20 May 
• Canadian, Chinese and English wines shine with Gold medals
• First ever Gold awarded to a Croatian wine

Croatia has received its first ever Gold medal from the IWSC, as the competition announces its first release of 2019 winners.  

Northern hemisphere wines (excluding France, Italy, Spain and Portugal) were revealed at the London Wine Fair on Monday 20 May. The results also include some superb medals for wines from Canada, China, and England.

The Croatian winner in question is Opg Pilato Malvazija sur lie 2015, a white wine made from one of Croatia’s oldest and most well-known indigenous grapes, Malvazija. It was described by judges as “evolving and opening in the glass all the time; the lovely minerality and beautiful texture carry the big but elegant palate to a grand finale.” 

Canada also saw brilliant results with its dry wines. While Canadian icewine always performs well, receiving five Gold medals this year, the country’s dry wines have also received seven Gold medals – three of which were awarded to Mission Hill Family Estate – for two Chardonnay wines, one Shiraz, one Cabernet Sauvignon, and three Bordeaux blends. 

English wine continues to perform well, and while four of the five Gold medals awarded to England went to sparkling wines (including one for Steven Spurrier’s Bride Valley Rose Bella 2014), the fifth was won by a dry wine: Woodchester Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018, from Gloucestershire in South West England. 

Top-performing producers include Napa Valley’s Grgich Hills Estate which received two Silver medals for Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines, Divino Nordheim Thüngersheim eG from Germany, which was awarded three Gold and six Silver medals, and Estate Argyros from Greece, which won awards for all of its wines entered, totalling two Gold and three Silver medals. 

China’s fine wine region, Ningxia, was awarded two Gold medals to Cabernet dominant wines from one of which will be available to taste on the IWSC stand (K40) at the London Wine Fair from 20-22 May, alongside other top medal-winning wines from Canada, China, and England.  

The IWSC will also be running a series of masterclasses at the fair, including tastings of Balkan and Mediterranean wines, British bubbles, dessert wine, and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco.

Search the full winner's listing here.