Judging Formula

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.

Scoring System

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 Score

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 Score

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 Score

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.

Who are the Judges?

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.