Gold, Silver, Bronze Medals and Seal of Approval - all wines entered are tasted by the judges as well as by the Chairman and Co-chairman to ensure that no wine is overlooked or unfairly assessed. For a wine to win a Gold Medal the wine must reach a score of at least 18.5 out of 20; for a Silver Medal the score is between 17 and 18.4, for Bronze 15.5 to 16.9. Seal of Approval is an award below Bronze Medal but recognises regional style and drinkability. These wines reach a score of between 14.5 and 15.4.

Trophy Wines are decided after ranking the Gold Medals in the Trophy categories:

Best New World White Wine
Best Old World White Wine
Best New World Red Wine
Best Old World Red Wine
Best Champagne/Sparkling Wine
Best Sweet Wine
Best Value Wine
Best Biodynamic/Organic Wine
Best Fortified Wine
Best Koshu Wine

Japan Wine Challenge Awards - These Awards are for Best Wines of particular countries. For a country to have an Award, the best wines must have received a Silver Medal or better.

Riedel Japan Wine Challenge Award for Best Wine Importer
Awarded to the Importer whose wines entered have achieved the highest overall score.

Riedel Japan Wine Challenge Award for Best Winemakers - for Red, White and Sparkling
Awarded to the wine-maker whose wines entered have achieved the highest overall score.

Best Discovery Award- in order to encourage wineries whose wines are not yet present in the Japan market, we will introduce a "Best Discovery Award" - this will be given to the wine not currently represented in Japan which in the opinion of the judges has the best potential in the Japan market.

JWC Award for Best Value Wines
Awarded to wines with an actual retail price in Japan of less than Yen 2,000.

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