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Inside the Panel’s judging criteria for Gold medal-winning wines

You would have often found yourself face to face with a very desirable bottle of wine, decked with accolades like Gold, Silver and Bronze medal stickers on it, and wondered what those medals mean.

The quest for all your answers ends as we demystify the elite world of wine competition, giving an overview of scoring criteria, judging panel and what it actually means to be a Gold-medal wine. We also join Wine Selectors Co-Chair and Wine Show Judge, Adam Walls, as he delves into the finer details of judging and awarding standards.

What do medals on wine bottles mean?

The reason behind the medals on wine bottles is to communicate that you’re picking a winner from an Australian or international wine show – but what does the medal mean? And are they an accurate assessment of the quality of the wine you’re considering?

It's a great achievement for a wine to win a Gold medal at an Australian wine show. It's a statement that the wine is an example of quality winemaking. And the criteria against which those medals are earned are indeed significant.

How do wine awards work?

At wine shows, all wines are tasted blind, which means that all factors that could lead to bias (like the label and RRP) are hidden. Vintage and variety or varieties are the only information identified – the rest is up to the expertise of the judging panel’s palate. Then the wines are judged on 3 crucial criteria: appearance, nose and palate.

What is the judging system in Australia wine show?

When it comes to assessing wines, like our Wine Selectors Tasting Panel, the Australian wine show circuit uses the 20-point system, awarding points in the following fashion: points out of 3 for appearance, points out of 7 for the nose and, points out of 10 for the palate. Scores are then added, and medals are awarded for:

Gold (18.5 to 20 – an exceptional wine)

Silver (17 to 18.4 – a very good wine)

Bronze (15.5 to 16.9 – a good wine)

What is the 100-points wine rating system?

While it is typical to use a 20-point system, there are also competitions that score wines on a 100-point system and a 5-point system. Some wine critics use the 100-point system, especially in the USA, where Robert Parker and Wine Spectator use this method.

So, if you ever wanted to know if 92-point wine is good? here’s how the scoring works: 95 – 100 points is the Gold medal, 89 – 94 is awarded a Silver medal and a score of 83 – 88 gets the wine a Bronze medal.

In Australia, the 100-point system is used by some wine writers like Rob Geddes and James Halliday, however, James Halliday’s system ranges from 75 to 100.

Why do wine selectors use the Australian 20-point wine show system?

While these rating systems can be a little confusing and no one system it better than the other, their aim is the same, to reflect the quality of the wine.

At Wine Selectors we use the 20-point Australian wine show judging system which hails from Europe and the UK and is used by the world’s most reputable wine writer and critic, Janis Robinson MW (Master of Wine). Historically, it is the system Australian wine has been judged by and for our Panellists, it ensures a reliable result.

You can be assured at Wine Selectors that of the thousands of wines our Panel tastes every year, (in fact our Tasting Panel reviews around 3,500 wines every year), only the very best get through the rigorous selection process.

What does a gold medal mean?

To achieve a Gold medal score of 18.5 to 20, the wine must appeal to the entire judging panel, meaning Gold is only awarded if there is unanimous consensus among judges as to the wine’s quality. The judging process is rigorous, involving multiple re-tastings and much discussion.

Judges work to ensure only the very best wines are awarded Gold. It’s not always the most expensive wines that win, either. The wines that are awarded Gold are held up as benchmarks for other winemakers to aspire to. Medals might be awarded for how well they express the varietal or regional character or the value they represent at their price point.

What is the highest award for wine?

If you thought gold was as high as it gets. Think again. You would have encountered wines with double Gold medal or even a Trophy. While a Gold medal is a verified mark of superior wine, a wine that gets a Gold medal vote from every judge is given a Double Gold.

To win a Trophy is an even bigger feat. When a wine is awarded a Trophy at a wine show, it means it is literally the very best of all of the Gold medal wines in its class or category –however, sometimes a Trophy is not awarded in each class.

Do wine awards matter?

Yes, they do! Far from being a mere promotional tool, the medals, and awards on your bottle of Australian wine – particularly those from Australian wine shows – are a guarantee that the wine you’re about to enjoy is among the best.