Beverage Trade Network today announced the results of the 2018 USA Wine Ratings competition. Overall, the panel of judges in San Francisco recognized 248 medal winners in a broad variety of categories, including Wine of the Year, Winery of the Year, Best in Show by Country and Best in Show by Varietal.

The highest-scoring wine in the competition was Reserve Merlot (2015 vintage) by St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma, California, which received 95 out of a possible 100 points. St. Francis Winery also tied for the second highest-scoring wine in competition (2015 Reserve Zinfandel), which resulted in St. Francis Winery also being named 2018 Winery of the Year. Other Gold medal winners at the USA Wine Ratings included wines from Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States.

Entries in the USA Wine Ratings competition were blind-tasted and judged by a high-profile panel of judges, who assessed the wines in competition on the basis of three primary criteria: Quality, Value, and Package. All wines were scored on a 100-point scale that assigned relative weights to each of these three criteria. Wines that scored 90+ points were awarded Gold medals, wines that scored 80 to 89 points were awarded Silver medals and wines that scored 70 to 79 points were awarded Bronze medals. Overall, 29 wines received Gold medals, 98 received Silver medals and 99 received Bronze medals.

The USA Wine Ratings was launched in late 2017 by Beverage Trade Network, which organizes wine industry events all over the world. The goal of this event was to judge wines the way consumers judge them. In contrast to other wine competitions, where winemaking ability and technical expertise sometimes receive primary consideration at the expense of drinkability, the goal of the USA Wine Ratings was to award and celebrate the wines that wine drinkers actually want to buy, whether at a retail wine store or ordering off the menu at a restaurant.

“Our goal was to set a very high bar for the types of wines that receive Gold, Silver and Bronze medals,” said Sid Patel, CEO, and Founder of Beverage Trade Network. “We worked carefully with the judges on evaluating the criteria of Quality, Value, and Package in order to take a consumer-centric view of the top wines in the world. Based on initial feedback we have already received on this judging criteria, we believe that events like the USA Wine Ratings can help to change the paradigm for the global wine industry.”

At this year’s competition, two surprise Gold medal winners included a 2017 Cuvee Dolette from Domeniile Viticole Tohani in Romania (90 points) and a 2016 Tempranillo from Boeger Winery in Colombia (90 points). “The fact that judges were able to recognize these two wines from emerging wine regions is further evidence that our mission of recognizing world-class wines from around the world is already having a real impact,” said Sid Patel of Beverage Trade Network.

Based on the initial success of this year’s USA Wine Ratings, Beverage Trade Network plans to run the competition again in 2019 and will be opening up entries towards the end of 2018.

For more information on the USA Wine Ratings, please see: www.USAWineRatings.com

For more information on Beverage Trade Network, please see: www.beveragetradenetwork.com

Wine of the Year

•  2015 Reserve Merlot, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

Winery of the Year

• St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

Best in Show by Country

• Windrun Pinot Noir Vintage Selection No. 12, Windrun Wine (United States)
• Winemakers Selection Cabernet Franc, UnDouble (France)
• El Capitan Malbec, Finca Adelma (Argentina)
• Luna Nuda Rose, Castelfeder Winery (Italy)
• Idlewright, Penrose Hill, Limited (Australia)
• Tomillar Crianza, Virgen de las Vinas (Spain)
• Tiki Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Tiki Wine + Vineyards (New Zealand)
• Classic Sauvignon Blanc, KWV (South Africa)
• Seven Cities, Penrose Hill, Limited (Chile)
• Werner Wermut RG White, CUPF Gmbh (Germany)

Best Wine of the Year by Quality

• 2015 Reserve Merlot, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

Best Wine of the Year by Value

• Winemakers Selection Cabernet Franc, UnDouble

Best Wine of the Year by Package

• Oak Farm Vineyards

For a full list of Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners, please see: www.USAWineRatings.com/en/competition-global-results/2018/