For 19 years it was owned and managed by the events and publishing company William Reed. In 2024 the Challenge was bought as

a stand-alone business by Chris Ashton, who has been involved with the IWC since 2000.

Overview

The judging process is lauded for its rigor and impartiality; the existing two-round system will be retained under the new regime. Every wine is assessed blind for its faithfulness to style, region and vintage. No pricing or producer information is provided to judges.

The competition brings together many of the wine world's most important and influential figures, with more than 500 experts from 38 countries. The IWC judging teams include experts and influencers from the international wine industry, commercial decision makers, buyers and Masters of Wine (MWs). Each year they find the highest-quality wines from the 50 or more wine-producing countries represented in the competition.

The awards are announced and presented at the IWC dinner, an important date on the wine industry social calendar and attended by guests flying in from around the world. Results are shared on the IWC website www.internationalwinechallenge.com.

Sake competition

The IWC also has a division for sake, with its own panel of co-chairs, both Japanese and international. Results from 2008 to the present are available on Wine-Searcher.

The competition is administered by The Pinotage Assocation . It is sponsored by the ABSA financial services group.

Various promotional and media opportunities are made available to winning producers in the six months after each competition. The Pinotage Assocation also runs competitions for Cape Blend red wines, and for Pinotage rosé.

US and international entries are considered across all categories and classes of distilled spirits, RTDs, cocktail bitters, aperitif and fortified wines. These samples may be submitted by ADI members and non-member small to medium size producers.

A double gold, gold, silver or bronze medal may be awarded. There are also awards for Best of Class (eg Agave Spirit, Whiskey) and Best of Category (eg Tequila, Blended Whiskey). Best of Class Trophy winners are given the chance to meet the ADI’s retail partners to discuss commercial opportunities.

All entries are considered for packaging and brand identity awards under the wider Certification of Craft spirits. These also feature gold, silver and bronze medals.

ADI Certified Craft Distilled Spirits are defined as follows

• The spirit must have been physically distilled and bottled on site. I.e. run through a still located in the Distilled Spirits Plant listed on the TTB-approved label. The label must state “Distilled by” followed by the name of the DSP
• Independently owned: less than 25 percent of the distillery is owned or controlled by entities who are not themselves craft distillers
• Small scale: maximum sales per year of 100,000 US liquid gallons
• Hands-on production reflecting the vision of the principal distiller(s), whether using traditional or innovative techniques

The following applies to Craft Blended Spirits:

• The blending components must be varied in each type,e.g, multiple barrels, more than one type of neutral spirit etc
• Blending cannot solely consist of dilution with water, or the addition of coloring, flavoring or blending material
  

For more information see the International Spirits Competition page on the ADI website.

The competition was founded by Michael Pinkus, a wine judge and writer for the Windsor Star newspaper. It created material for newspaper stories whilst allowing local producers to showcase their products. Nine producers entered in 1981, all from Ontario. In 2023, there were over 600 wines entered into the competition.

Roughly 20 judges form a panel to assess over 50 categories of beverages. As well as the standard bronze, silver, and gold, the top-scoring wine from each category is awarded double gold and entered into a corresponding trophy category. The trophy categories are as follows:

• Red Wine of the Year
• White Wine of the Year
• Sparkling Wine of the Year
• Fruit Wine of the Year
• Mead of the Year
• Cider of the Year
• Dessert Wine of the Year

For more information about the competition, please see the website.