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Sydney International Wine Competition returns in 2021

The Sydney International Wine Competition will return after last year’s cancellation with entries open from 12 of July and judging occurring late October. Award and trophy winners will be announced on the 8 of November 2021.

“This is a very important year for the Australian and New Zealand wine industries as they come out of COVID and have to face additional issues with international distribution,” said Brett Ling, co-convenor of the Sydney International Wine Competition.

Entries are open internationally with previous years seeing up to 12 different countries competing.  Maximum entries are capped at 2000 with the top 400 wines proceeding to be re-judged with the appropriate food and narrowed down to 250 wines. These wines will either be awarded the Top 100, or a blue gold or gold medal. 25 trophies will also be awarded.

“While there will be greater emphasis on wines from Australia and New Zealand this year because of logistical issues, our region has never been more open to competing against other international producers, so we expect very keen interest in the competition from across the world,” said Ling.

The panel is expected to have 13 judges chaired by Warren Gibson and including four masters of wine from Australia and New Zealand. Due to international border uncertainties, no judges have been appointed from the global region.

According to Ling, the competition has hopes for the trans-Tasman travel ‘bubble’ to be operating by judging time in late October.

The Sydney International Wine Competition distinguishes itself from other international wine shows as it is the only one which pairs food dish with the wine to ensure winners are technically excellent and also customer relevant.

Winners will be posted on the official website alongside the judging criteria, the judges’ comments as well as the dishes they were matched with.

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