Dirceu Vianna Junior MW: IWSC elevates industry standards

The IWSC judges are the industry's most influential voices, shaping global markets and driving brand success. From Master Distillers to Senior Buyers, from Head Sommeliers to Bar Directors, these leaders guide the world's top drinks establishments. Through our new Insider series, discover why their judgement is so trusted and gain exclusive insights from the experts themselves.

In this first edition of the IWSC Insider, our Wine Judging Committee member Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, shares how the IWSC contributes to industry standards and reveals how the medals are awarded. 

The Foundation of Excellence

“The IWSC is synonymous with high standards. One of the main reasons for this is the incredibly talented group of judges. These professionals work for some of the best and most successful wine companies and instinctively expect and are used to high standards.”

How IWSC Medals are Awarded

The IWSC is renowned for its high standards. If a wine is fault-free, many competitions will reward that; at the IWSC we don’t. We want to protect the consumer, meaning that a bronze medal-winning wine at the IWSC has to give the consumer some degree of pleasure. That’s the first step to being a bronze-medal winner. When it comes to silver, what we are looking for is a sense of place, typicity, and the varietal definition. As for gold medals, the IWSC is a difficult competition to win a gold. We are strict and we have the best judges in the world: the best sommeliers, the best buyers, and, by definition, they are quite critical. A gold-medal winning wine has to show quality, balance and harmony, but also, almost in an emotional sense, we have to be very proud of that specific wine. To win a gold, a wine doesn’t necessarily have to be powerful and rich. Sometimes the wines that have subtle elegance and beautiful complexity stand out the most. It’s not all about power!  

The Role of Wine Judging Committee 

“As well as demonstrating experience and confidence, our judges are unbiased and have a positive attitude. In addition, one of the roles of the Wine Judging Committee is to ensure fairness, consistency and encourage healthy discussions. It is precisely these high-level discussions that are always carried out unhurried and with a focus to reach the correct decision for every single wine that help to reinforce the knowledge of our judges. These factors, shaped by strict standards dictated by IWSC, are the key features that help to contribute to the improvement and development of our industry standards.” 

Innovation Through Global Judging

“Another factor that greatly contributes to these high standards is the opportunity, in some cases, to judge wines in the country of origin. This is a mutually beneficial relationship between producers and our judges. The chance to meet one another helps judges cement and update their knowledge of specific regions while simultaneously allowing producers to meet and speak to the judges. As our judges are, in many cases, key decision-makers, it gives producers a chance to interact, learn about the market, and forge new business relationships.”

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a Wine Consultant and member of the IWSC Wine Judging Committee. As the first Brazilian Master of Wine, his expertise extends across continents—from judging international competitions to consulting wine businesses worldwide.