DWWA 2025 ! Bulgaria has 53 Awards

This May, I took part once again in the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA)—my 13th year as a judge at what has become the most influential wine competition in the world. In 2025, the DWWA brought together over 240 wine professionals, including Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, and regional experts, to assess nearly 17,000 wines from 57 countries.

I served as Senior Judge for five full days during the first week of judging, focusing on wines from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Balkans—regions I’ve worked with closely over the years and continue to follow with great interest. Over the course of the week, I tasted around 400 wines, blind, in structured panels, each assessed on its quality, balance, and expression of origin.

It was a privilege to judge under the leadership of Caroline Gilby MW, long-standing Regional Chair for the Balkans, and Wojciech Bońkowski MW, who leads panels for parts of Central and Eastern Europe. I’ve judged under Wojciech’s guidance in previous editions as well—his precision and regional knowledge consistently shape a thoughtful and fair tasting environment.

One of the great strengths of DWWA lies in its format. Wines are grouped by origin, grape variety, and price band, and tasted blind. After individual assessments, we discuss each wine as a panel to reach consensus on medal outcomes. This ensures fairness and consistency, while still allowing space for informed debate.

The wines from Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Montenegro, Albania, and Croatia demonstrated the evolving depth and confidence of these regions. While judging is blind and we don’t know the producers behind the bottles, the distinctive character of the wines spoke clearly through native grape varieties such as Mavrud, Rubin, Prokupac, Vranac, Fetească Regală, Fetească Neagră, Rară Neagră, Viorica, Shesh i Zi, Shesh i Bardhë, Kallmet, Grk, and Prč. Across the panels, we saw increasing technical precision, improved balance, and a stronger sense of regional identity—qualities that stand out even without a label.

After the first week of judging, all Gold medal winners move forward to a second round of re-tasting by a smaller group of Regional Chairs and Co-Chairs. During this second week—reserved for awarding Platinum and Best in Show—the most exceptional wines are re-evaluated to ensure they meet the highest international standards. While I was not part of this final phase, it plays a crucial role in refining and confirming the top results of the competition.

The results of DWWA 2025 will be released on June 18, and I look forward to seeing how wines from the Balkans and Central & Eastern Europe have performed. These regions continue to assert themselves with individuality and purpose, and being part of their journey through such a respected platform is a privilege.

Thirteen years in, and I still find this work meaningful. The DWWA continues to offer not just medals, but perspective—on where wine is, and where it’s going.

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