IWSC wine judging begins

Almost 100 judges will begin tasting the first wine entries of the IWSC 2019 in London this week. 

The competition’s wine judging has been moved to The China Exchange in central London, following years of hosting the judging at Dunsfold Park in Surrey. The move will make judging more accessible for international and London-based wine professionals, and  high-profile industry influencers.

The judging process has also been renewed this year, with specialist Judging Committees created to lead the tasting days. Philip Goodband MW will chair the Wine Judging Committee, which is made up of industry leaders including John Hoskins MW and Dawn Davies MW who are leading the tasting days this week.  

The Wine Judging Committee will re-taste all Gold medal-winning wines for final endorsement and oversee the judging panels which consist of four judges, including an Associate Judge, and are led by a Panel Chair. 

Joining the IWSC as Panel Chairs this year are, among others:

• Ana Sapungiu MW, head wine buyer at Oddbins
• Isa Bal MS, director at Isa Mal MS Ltd
• Richard Hemming MW, writer at Purple Pages
• Igor Sotric, wine buyer and head sommelier at China Tang at The Dorchester
• Pierre Mansour, head of buying at The Wine Society
• Rebecca Palmer, associate director and buyer at Corney & Barrow 

They will join existing Panel Chairs Christopher Horridge (director at Face), Peter Nixson (wine buyer at British Airways), and Anne Jones (category manager at Waitrose).

This week, judges will be blind tasting wines from Eastern Europe, Japan, China, the Mediterranean, England, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Moldova, Russia, Canada, the USA, and Mexico to award Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.  

Wine director Christelle Guibert said “We at the IWSC are delighted to offer a very warm welcome to all our judges, at our first judging session to be held in the heart of London. 

"We are thrilled with this latest landmark in what has already been an exciting year for the IWSC, as we celebrate our 50th year. Over the next two days, we look forward to working with our world-class panel of tasters, rewarding excellent wines and providing trusted recommendations to consumers and trade alike.”

Follow the IWSC judging sessions from 9-10 April at #IWSCjudging