Wakefield Taylors Wines and 1800 Milenio Take Top Honors July 14, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 18th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place recently in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  This year, Wakefield Taylor Wines 2024 Estate Riesling and 1800 Milenio Extra-Aged Añejo took top honors. Wakefield Taylor, a heritage winery in Australia’s Clare Valley (a region known for quality Reislings), wowed judges with its “mouthwatering citrus blooms” and “gentle salinity.”  A representative from 1800 Mileno remarked, “1800 Milenio is backed by 11 generations of tequila-making e

2025 Sunset Magazine International Wine Competition Announces Call for Entries  Santa Rosa, Calif., (March 20, 2025) — Sunset Magazine, the leading media brand of the Western lifestyle, announced today its call for entries in the 2025 Sunset International Wine Competition. Established in 2012, the Sunset International Wine Competition was the most successful launch of a wine competition in U.S. history.  Winning producers will be featured in a Fall release of a Wine Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for the Wine Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months up until the 2026 Wine Competition Awards winners are announced. Wine & Spirit Competitions Management & Productions (WSCM&P) will manage the competition.  “When you combine the reputation and influence of Sunset with the most experienced wine ju

JUNE 28, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the 17th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place June 10-12 in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  “As always, the International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition shined a spotlight on hundreds of deserving wines,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, owner of Wine Competitions Management & Production, which organizes and presents IWWSC. “And even though entry is open to all winemakers regardless of gender, I found it gratifying that six of this year’s sweepstakes wines were created by women. And our overall wine winner also was named Best Woman Winemaker

Entry by May 20th to take advantage of the  Early Entry Discount (extended by 1 full week)   International Women’s Wine Competition, judged entirely by wine industry professional women. NOTE *** This competition is not limited to Women Winemakers! We encourage and welcome ALL Wineries to enter Enter Here   Congratulations Best of the Best 2023 New Clairvaux Vineyard Petite Sirah Poor Souls Block 2020   ENTRY DEADLINE: MAY 30th (extended) Competition Judging: June 11th - 12th Wine Shipments Due: June 3rd $10 Discount for Early Entry (May 20th) - Plus - $5 Discount or Entry Online. (enter online below) Shipping Labels  Enter Online   Paper Entry Form  Award for Best Woman Winemaker Congratulations on having a woman winemaker at your winery! We would love for you to send us an email to register her at the time of entry. At our competition, we judge wines based on their own merit, regardless of the gender of

Santa Rosa, Calif., (February 28, 2024) — Sunset Magazine, the leading media brand of the Western lifestyle, announced today its call for entries in the 2024 Sunset International Wine Competition. Established in 2012, the Sunset International Wine Competition was the most successful launch of a wine competition in U.S. history. Winning producers will be featured in a Fall release of a Wine Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for the Wine Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months up until the 2025 Wine Competition Awards winners are announced. Wine & Spirit Competitions Management & Productions (WSCM&P) will manage the competition. “When you combine the reputation and influence of Sunset with the most experienced wine judging professionals, including award winning winemakers, Master Sommeliers, Masters of

Wine and spirits distributors do not always get full credit for their myriad of services offered.  With portfolios bursting at the seams, their role in the 3-tier system is difficult. We at Andavi Solutions would like to recognize some of the critical functions distributors perform on behalf of their supplier partners.  1) Training and Education Distributor sales teams include some of the most highly trained professionals in the industry. The training opportunities distributors provide are not solely for internal stakeholders. They also play a critical role in the education and training of their supplier partners.  It is sad but true to say that many brand owners do not properly train their people, and by default, distributors end up picking up the slack. Another vital area of training distributors provide is forecasting and inventory management (more on this below).  Distributors do a lot of staff training (far more than most suppliers), and they don&rs

Winemaker Carol Shelton Named Honorary Head Judge at the International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition

June 13, 2023 (Santa Rosa, Calif.) — Esteemed winemaker Carol Shelton has been named Honorary Head Judge for the 2023 Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition, which takes place June […]

Santa Rosa, Calif., (February 28, 2023) SUNSET Magazine, the leading media brand of the Western lifestyle announced today its call for entries in the 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition. Established in 2012, the Sunset International Wine Competition was the most successful launch of a wine competition in U.S. history. Winning producers will be featured in a Fall release of a Wine Special non-print, digital edition with supporting microsite. Promotions for the Wine Award Special Issue will be placed in sunset.com, Sunset eNewsletters and Sunset social sites. The edition will be promoted and available for 12 months up until the 2024 Wine Competition Awards winners are announced. Wine & Spirit Competitions Management & Productions (WSCM&P) will manage the competition. “When you combine the reputation and influence of Sunset combined with the most experienced wine judging professionals, including award winning winemakers, Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, wi

2022 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Best of the Best and Best Red Wine to Wapato Point Cellars’ 2018 Cabernet Franc Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 14, 2022—Boasting a record number of entries, the 2022 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best of the Best and Best Red Wine to a Cabernet Franc from Wapato Point Cellars (Manson, Wash.). Judges raved: “Beautiful oak”; “Blackberry”; “Righteous herbal”; “Focused.” This is the first time a Washington State wine has taken top prize at this prestigious competition. “It was unexpected but well deserved,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, founder and president of Wine Competitions Management & Productions. “We had some really great wines in the final sweepstakes rounds, and Wapato Point Cellars swoops in and takes it all. Results like this are why competitions are so valuable.” To win Best of Show Red Wine, the Wapato Point Cab Franc ha