Choose your Wine Comp (Part 2)

Where Value Is Really Won or Lost

In Part 1, I looked at the foundations: cost, jurisdiction, standing, judging formats and governance. They help establish whether a competition is credible and worth taking seriously.

In Part 2, things get more practical - and more commercial.

Once a competition passes the basic tests, the real question becomes: how useful will it actually be for your business? This is where competitions that look similar on paper often start to behave very differently.

6. JUDGES

Who is on the panel, and does the competition tell you?

Most reputable competitions disclose their judges, and they should. Consider whether the panel is small and specialist, large and diverse, or somewhere in between.

If your aim is benchmarking quality, a highly expert panel may appeal. If your aim is sales, a broader panel - including people closer to your target customer - may be more relevant. A mix often produces the most balanced outcomes.

7. TARGET

Who is the competition talking to?

Look at where and how it communicates. Trade, consumers, press, social media, print? Does that audience align with your own?

A medal only has value if it’s seen by people you want to reach.

8. MARKETING

How does the competition present itself?

Tone of voice matters. Some competitions adopt a formal, institutional style that carries authority but little personality. Others are more informal, characterful, even humorous.

Neither is inherently better, but compatibility matters. Also consider output: do they simply publish results, or do they celebrate them? And what assets do they provide to help you tell your medal story?

9. LOCATION

Where is the competition based?

For international competitions this may be less relevant, but for smaller or more focused events, geography can make a real difference. Local and regional competitions often punch above their weight in terms of visibility and relevance.

Think about where your customers are - or where you’d like them to be.

10. WINE

Finally, think about the wine itself.

A look at historic results can be revealing. Some competitions appear to favour classic styles, others reward innovation more readily. Patterns aren’t guarantees, but they can offer clues.

If your wine is unconventional, your choice of competition matters.

Final Thoughts

If you’re still with me, thanks for persevering.

None of this is prescriptive. It’s about being more questioning, more selective, and more strategic. Some producers enter one or two competitions and promote the results relentlessly. Others spread their bets. Some decide the money is better spent elsewhere altogether.

All of those approaches can be valid.

But if you’ve ever felt that your competition activity has been expensive and underwhelming, it may be time to ask harder questions - of the competitions, and of your own objectives.

This thinking also shapes how wines are grouped and assessed at the IEWA, where clarity and comparability matter more than over-complicating categories - something you can read more about in our approach to categories and judging.

Good luck.

Alex Taylor
Founder, IEWA

‘Wine competition medals are unpredictable. Value doesn’t have to be’