The next edition of the Sommeliers Choice Awards goes beyond medals by introducing new structured judge feedback, greater judging transparency, and enhanced commercial insights designed to help wineries better understand how their wines perform in today's on-premise market.

Every entrant will receive deeper insight into how their wines scored, why they received those scores, and practical recommendations from leading sommeliers, restaurant wine directors, hospitality buyers, and beverage professionals on where their wines are most likely to succeed.

Image: Sample Report Only

The information, scores, judges, tasting notes, recommendations, channel insights, and commercial feedback shown below are for illustration purposes only and have been created as sample data. They do not represent an actual Sommeliers Choice Awards entry or judging outcome.

New For 2027: More Sommelier-Led Feedback

Following extensive conversations with wineries that entered previous editions, we asked one simple question:

"How can we make entering the Sommeliers Choice Awards even more valuable?"

The answer was clear.

Producers wanted more than medals. They wanted practical feedback that could help improve their wines, strengthen their restaurant positioning, and better understand how hospitality professionals evaluate wines.

Beginning with the 2027 Sommeliers' Choice Awards, every entry will receive an enhanced evaluation report featuring multiple new sections designed specifically for commercial success.

Five Detailed Commercial Scores

Every wine will now receive individual scores across five judging criteria:

- Food Pairability Score (F) – Compatibility across a wide range of cuisines and restaurant menus.
- Typicity Score (T) – Expression of grape variety, style, and regional character.
- Quality Score (Q) – Overall quality, balance, complexity, structure, and finish.
- Value Score (V) – Perceived value relative to price.
- Package Score (P) – Bottle, label, packaging, shelf appeal, and presentation.

These scores provide wineries with a much deeper understanding of how their wines perform through the eyes of professional restaurant buyers.

New: How To Improve This Wine

Every judging panel will provide concise recommendations covering:

- Aroma and flavour profile
- Balance and structure
- Food pairing opportunities
- Regional typicity
- Packaging improvements
- Price perception
- Cellaring potential
- Overall commercial readiness

The goal is to provide wineries with practical recommendations they can apply to future vintages and releases.

New: How To Market & Sell This Wine

Judges will also provide commercial recommendations based on years of experience purchasing wines for restaurants, hotels and hospitality groups.

Recommendations may include:

- Ideal restaurant positioning
- Cuisine pairings
- Premium positioning
- Pricing recommendations
- Distributor suitability
- Route-to-market suggestions
- Restaurant listing opportunities

Helping wineries understand not only how good their wine is, but also where it is most likely to succeed.

New: Channel Insights

One of the biggest additions to the entrant report is our new Channel Insights section.

Based on the judges' collective evaluation, every wine will receive recommendations on the hospitality channels where it is most likely to perform successfully.

Recommended channels may include:

- Luxury Hotels
- Fine Dining Restaurants
- Casual Dining Restaurants
- Wine Bars
- Premium Cocktail Bars
- Steakhouses
- Resort Properties
- Private Clubs
- Upscale Retail Wine Programs

This provides wineries and importers with valuable guidance on where their wines may find the strongest commercial fit.

New: Service Recommendation

The report will also indicate how judges believe the wine is best suited to be served within restaurants.

Simple visual icons will identify whether the wine is recommended for:

- By The Glass
- By The Bottle
- or both

These recommendations help producers understand how restaurant professionals are likely to position the wine on their wine lists.

Greater Judge Transparency

Image: Sommeliers Choice Awards - Judging Panel.

The Sommeliers Choice Awards also introduces greater transparency throughout the judging process.

Every entrant will be able to see the judges who evaluated their wines, providing greater confidence in the results and a better understanding of the expertise behind each evaluation.

Judging panels include leading:

- Master Sommeliers
- Master of Wine professionals
- Sommeliers
- Restaurant Wine Directors
- Beverage Directors
- Hotel Beverage Buyers
- Multi-unit Hospitality Wine Buyers
- Restaurant Buyers

These are professionals responsible for selecting wines that appear on restaurant wine lists throughout the United States.

More Than A Medal

Winning a medal is only one part of the Sommeliers Choice Awards experience.

The enhanced entrant report combines detailed commercial scoring, structured sommelier feedback, channel recommendations, service recommendations, and judge transparency into one comprehensive evaluation.

It gives wineries meaningful insights that can help improve future vintages, strengthen sales presentations, support importer conversations, and identify the hospitality channels where their wines are most likely to succeed.

Enter The 2027 Sommeliers Choice Awards

Entries are now open for the 2027 Sommeliers Choice Awards.

Wineries, importers, exporters, agencies, and brand owners from around the world are invited to enter now and secure Super Early entry pricing while benefiting from one of the industry's most restaurant-focused wine evaluation processes.

Enter now. Lock in the lowest entry pricing. Ship your wines later according to the competition shipping schedule.

More than an award, the Sommeliers Choice Awards now delivers the detailed feedback, transparency, channel insights, and commercial intelligence wineries need to grow their presence across restaurants, hotels, and the U.S. on-premise market.

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