Super Early
Deadline
December 20, 2024
Judging
Date
July 28, 2025
Winners
Announcement
August 12, 2025
The USA Wine Ratings is the only Wine Competition in USA that is focused on independents, regional and national retailers. It is designed to recognize and reward wines that are not only high in quality but also deliver value and packaging that appeal to consumers. To ensure a fair and transparent judging process, the competition evaluates entries across three key criteria: Quality, Value and Package.
Judges work in groups to assess wines against the three criteria: Quality, Value, and Packaging. Each wine is scored on a 100-point scale, with points allocated based on the respective weights of the criteria. Judges provide comments to highlight the key attributes of top-scoring wines.
USA Wine Ratings judges are top trade buyers and Masters of Wine. Get key feedback from these top buyers and grow your brand in the off-premise channels of USA.
The USA Wine Ratings is the only Wine Competition in USA that is focused on independents, regional and national retailers. It is designed to recognize and reward wines that are not only high in quality but also deliver value and packaging that appeal to wine consumers. To ensure a fair and transparent judging process, the competition evaluates entries across three key criteria:
Judges assess the wine for its aroma, taste, and finish. Wines are scored based on balance, complexity, and typicity within their style. Each entry undergoes a blind tasting to ensure impartiality, with wines identified only by their region and varietal (not brand or producer). The aim is to reward wines that display excellence in craftsmanship and deliver a memorable drinking experience.
Judges consider the wine’s price point in relation to its quality. Wines offering exceptional drinking experiences at competitive prices are scored highly. This criterion ensures that consumers receive great value for their money when choosing a medal-winning wine.
Packaging is judged for its design, functionality, and shelf appeal. Judges evaluate the label clarity, bottle design, and the overall presentation to determine how well the wine captures consumer attention and aligns with market trends. Wines with thoughtful and innovative packaging receive higher scores, as presentation plays a critical role in influencing consumer purchasing decisions. View full judging process and medal definations here.
Super Early Bird Ends - December 20, 2024
International Submission Closes - May 31, 2025
Domestic Submission Closes - June 30, 2025
Warehouse Closes - June 28, 2025
Judging Day - July 28, 2025
Winners Announced - August 12, 2025
Wine Competition that is focused on independents, regional and national retailers. The super early bird deadline is December 20, 2024. Enter your wines today and save.
Gold
+90 Points
Silver
+80 Points
Bronze
+70 Points
To win a USA Wine Ratings award you will need to score highly in all three areas of our judging criteria. You might have an outstanding quality wine, but if the price and packaging is not right, you will not be recognized by the USA Wine Ratings. There is no point, for example, in having a 95 point wine if it does not look good or offer consumers great value for money. Those points mean it will remain highly respected within the trade, but it will also remain largely unsold on the shelf or languishing on a restaurant’s wine list.
That is why USA Wine Ratings is the leading wine competition in the USA with the rationale to rate wines per the preferences of the consumer and trade and rewarding wines as such. Wine entries will be judged by their Quality, Value and Packaging.
Q (Quality Score) + Value Score (V) + Package Score (P) = USA Wine Ratings Score.
Quality Score: will be marked out of 100
Value Score: will be marked out of 100
Package Score: will be marked out of 100
A separate weighted score will be given for each of the three parts of the judging process (Quality gets twice the weight. The scores will be calculated with other judges for the same product on the team to give a final score from which individual prizes will be awarded.
Quality will be assessed based on how agreeable the wine is for its target customers. UWR will measure quality by Appearance, Aroma, Body, Taste and Aftertaste. Quality score will also get determined by overall wine composition and drinkability.
Value in this context means how well the wine is priced based on its quality. If you think it offers excellent value, the score should be close to 100 of 100 and if you think it should be priced lower, then the score should be low. The metric to be used here is the retail price vs quality.
Packaging in this context is measured by how well you think the wine will be perceived by the consumer. This includes label, bottle color, bottle shape and closure. This does not involve boxes, cartons and bags. It is how you think the product will be perceived when placed on a wine shelf amongst thousands of other wines.
The USA Wine Ratings(UWR) will be assessed and judged by a leading panel of top-level wine buyers with current direct commercial buying responsibility. The list of judges will be drawn from leading retail chains, wholesalers, distributors and on-trade groups across a variety of channels and disciplines including multiple retailing, convenience stores, cash and carries, specialist retailers, casual and fine dining, hospitality and the travel industry.