IWSC Results Uncover Emerging Wine Trends

IWSC Results Uncover Emerging Wine Trends

International Wine & Spirit Competition expert Ewan Lacey shares his views on these intriguing results

Today saw the announcement of the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) Northern Hemisphere results at the London Wine Fair. Widely acknowledged as the most prestigious contest of its type in the world, IWSC General Manager, Ewan Lacey gives his wine predictions for the months ahead:  

Made in China

All eyes were on China as they impressed IWSC judges and picked up eight medals. China has burst on to the global wine scene and has recently been named as one of the top wine-producing countries in the world. Having secured only one medal last year, China has leapt up the medal table demonstrating that the quality of Chinese wine is on the rise and a strong contender.

Icewine

A strong performance was seen by Canadian producers with 217 medals won, 16 of these being Gold and Gold Outstanding thanks to their famous icewine (a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine). With sales of sweet wine still booming, icewine has seen a rapid increase in popularity and entries. The IWSC see this growing trend credited to the younger consumer who is opting for a sweeter wine.

Eastern Europe

It’s a very exciting time for Eastern European wine makers as they make their welcome return to the world stage. Countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Romania, Slovenia and Moldova all have a rich history of quality viticulture and wine making. Georgia is believed to be the birthplace of wine and they’re still made the same way today as they were 7,000 years ago. Today the industry is really standing its own ground in the world of wine as proven with the collective 201 IWSC medals won in this year’s competition.

IWSC General Manager, Ewan Lacey commented, “I think many people are keen to learn more after hearing China’s results today. The country picked up selection of medals with the Helan Mountain Xiao Feng 2010 winning a Silver Outstanding meaning China is definitely one to watch.”

For the full list of northern hemisphere winners, go to www.iwsc.net

Notes to editors:

For more information please contact Holly Axelrad at Green Row, Holly@greenrow.co.uk

·        The International Wine and Spirit Competition was founded in 1969 and is the premier competition of its kind in the world. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world's best wines, spirits and liqueurs. All entries are blind tasted in groups divided by variety, region and vintage as necessary.

·        IWSC has appointed Laura Catena as the 2014 president. 

·        The 2014 Annual Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday 12^th November, at The Guild Hall, City of London.

·        The IWSC has partnered with Wines Direct to promote its top 2014 award winning wines. The price comparison website will allow consumers to search for medal winners by country, variety, colour, region, or retailer. The website will also show judges’ tasting notes for wines which has won trophy, gold, gold outstanding and silver outstanding