The 2025 USA Wine Ratings is officially open for entries, offering wineries around the world the opportunity to participate in one of the most respected wine competitions in the U.S. What sets this competition apart is its unique focus on wines that appeal to independent, regional, and national retailers. By participating, you get your wines in front of top retail buyers, Masters of Wine, and Master Sommeliers who influence purchasing decisions in the industry. USA Wine Ratings is America’s leading Wine Competition that is focused on independents, regional and national retailers.

This competition recognizes and promotes marketable, consumer-driven wines that excel in quality, value, and packaging. It's not just about producing a good wine but ensuring it resonates with trade buyers and stays on retail shelves.

Why Enter the 2025 USA Wine Ratings?

a) Focused on Retail: The USA Wine Ratings is built for wineries that want to target independents, regional, and national retailers, helping you get noticed by key players in the industry.

b) Visibility: Winning wines gain exposure and credibility, offering increased opportunities for placements in retail stores and restaurants.

c) Professional Feedback: Each entry receives valuable insights from top retail buyers, sommeliers, and Masters of Wine to help you improve and grow your brand.

Judging Process

The competition evaluates wines based on three key areas to ensure that they are not only top-quality but also consumer-friendly and marketable:

1) Quality: Judged by aroma, taste, appearance, and aftertaste to assess how well the wine appeals to its target customer.

2) Value for Money: Wines are assessed based on their price-to-quality ratio to ensure they offer good value to both retailers and consumers.

3) Packaging: Evaluated for its design and ability to stand out on a crowded shelf and appeal to the target audience.

Having blind-tasted the wines on a flight and submitted the scores, the judges then assessed and discussed each product's packaging (label, closure, bottle weight, etc). The packaging scores are then added to the total score. The USA Wine Ratings final score is then calculated. 

The competition gives 2 times the weightage on quality, one time on value, and one time on package. The competition was started with the philosophy that this is how trade buys and how consumers buy. That is why brands that win at USA Wine Ratings are great on Quality, Value, and Package.

This approach ensures that only the most market-driven wines rise to the top. USA Wine Ratings continues to create a new benchmark to reward wines that meet these criteria and is America’s most relevant wine competition as that is how trade buys and consumer buys their wines.

Judging Panel

The 2025 USA Wine Ratings judging panel features top industry experts, including wine buyers, sommeliers, and Masters of Wine. You will see more judges coming from independent, regional, and national channels in the judges section. Each panel will also be aimed to have a Master of Wine or a Master Sommelier.

USA Wine Ratings takes pride in bringing the best in class and real trade buyers as its judges from all over the USA. This gives brands a great opportunity to showcase their wines in front of these hard-to-get top wine buyers.

Kimberly Shannon – Beer, Wine, and Liquor Specialist at Giant Eagle, Inc.

Here are some of the esteemed judges from Masters of Wine to Regional and National Chains as a first round:

Bruce Abbott – President at Liquor Stores USA

Greg Richtarek – Wine & Spirits Manager at Safeway Stores, Inc.

Kimberly Shannon – Beer, Wine, and Liquor Specialist at Giant Eagle, Inc.

Jeff Slankard – Wine Director at Barons Marketplace

Kristen Zuver – Director of Purchasing at Bounty Hunter Wine and Spirits

Dr. Liz Thach, MW – Master of Wine, President of Wine Market Council

Ryan Anderson – Wine Manager at Total Wine & More

Steve Beckner, CSW – Wine & Spirits Buyer at Grocery Outlet

Henry Brimo – Wine Category Manager at Southeastern Grocers

Susan Lin MW – Master of Wine

Peter Marks MW – Master of Wine

Bob Paulinski, MW – Master of Wine

Jim Weaver – Category Manager Wine at Giant Eagle, Inc.

James Kung – Wine & Spirits Specialist at DFS Group Limited (duty-free airport stores).

Thomas Gregory – Vice President of Food and Beverage at Pacifica Hotels

(See the full list of 2025 USA Wine Ratings Judges here).

Judging panel of 2024 at USA Wine Ratings 

Special category winners will also get a video testimonial from these top independent, regional, and national wine buyers of the USA and the top winners will get a chance to do a Zoom call with the buyers.

Organized by Beverage Trade Network

The USA Wine Ratings is organized by the Beverage Trade Network, a platform dedicated to connecting beverage producers with buyers and retailers. Their expertise in the industry ensures that winning wines not only receive recognition but also the visibility needed to succeed in a competitive marketplace.

Get your wines reviewed by top independents, regional, and national wine buyers of the USA along with Master Sommeliers and Master of Wines. USA Ratings is the only competition in the world that focuses on key retail buyers of the USA as judges and gives brands an opportunity to be in front of them.

Enter your wines today to take advantage of Super Early Bird pricing and get your brand the exposure it deserves!

Also Read:
Behind the Scenes: Conversation with Eduardo Dingler, VP at Wine Access & USA Wine Ratings Judge
Behind the Scenes: Conversation with Beki Miller, Beverage Director, Caramà & USA Wine Ratings Judge
Behind the Scenes: A Conversation with Susan R Lin, MW and USA Wine Ratings Judge