The Wine Pinnacle Awards are not restricted by only judging wines that have paid an entry fee or come from a particular region, but are based on the expertise and knowledge of its esteemed judging panel.
The Wine Pinnacle Awards is a pioneering award that recognises the finest wines and wine professionals the world has to offer, representing the opinions of 61 jury members from around the globe – comprising Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, wine professionals and luminaries and the illustrious five-member Technical Committee headed by Ms Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine.
Between them the jury selects what they see are the most deserving of wines that stand out for a reason. A decision-making process that is focused on fairness and inclusivity where all wines and winemakers from all regions are considered. An awards process it believes truly represents the opinions of wine professionals and experts around the world.
How it works
The technical committee reaches a consensus on the award categories for the year, based on current wine trends and the performance of each vintage.
The technical committee then nominates an exclusive list of wine professionals, experts, and critics. From this list, only those with a minimum of three endorsements from the committee are selected for the jury of the Wine Pinnacle Awards.
The Technical Committee
The Technical Committee comprises five internationally-renowned wine experts including: Committee chairwoman Jeannie Cho Lee of Hong Kong; Andreas Larsson of Sweden;Doug Frost of the United States; Kenichi Ohashi MW of Japan; Oz Clarke of the United Kingdom. They are responsible for establishing the award categories, forming a credible panel of jury members, and overseeing the nomination process to ensure there is focus on diversity, quality and merit.
The Nomination Process
An esteemed panel of Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, and premier critics are assembled into an expert jury, responsible for nominating the most deserving of wines.
As Oz Clarke explains: “We’ve spread the net wider this year and are on the lookout for budget-priced wines, as well as rewarding the wineries that are making the greatest effort with sustainability. We have also highlighted individuals who we believe have made a particular effort to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Award Categories
The award categories are carefully defined to highlight the best wines from the most exciting wine regions. This year 18 inclusive award categories have been selected including ‘Mature Wines’, ‘Best Recent Releases’, ‘Best Friend of the Earth’, and the inclusion of new categories ‘Comfort Wines’ and ‘Pandemic Hero’.
Voting Phase
Jury members receive access to the Wine Pinnacle Awards’ secure portal to submit up to nine votes for wines and winemakers in each category, according to their preference. Each wine and winemaker then receives a total number of points, after an audit of each vote. In the event of a tiebreaker, the technical committee gathers to deliberate the result.
Announcement of Top Nominees
The top three nominees in each award category are announced via a press release. The winners with the greatest number of points will only be revealed at the award ceremony.
Awards Ceremony & Masterclass Experience, Wine and Dine Sessions, and Wine Industry Symposium
The venue for the World Pinnacle Awards is the Resorts World Convention Centre in Singapore
The focus then turns to the Resorts World Convention Centre in Singapore and the culmination of the Wine Pinnacle Awards with the Seawards ceremony on November 1.
Prior to that the Resorts World Sentosa plays host to a series of events including the Masterclass Experience on October 29 and October 30 2022 –where Technical Committee members drive deeper conversations in a series of masterclasses for potential investors. This year they will include sessions that look at hidden gems of the wine world including Henschke, Maison M. Chapoutier, Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Tempos Vega Sicilia and wines from Saint-Emilion – Pomerol – Fronsac.
Delegates can delve into the people, history, and stories behind each bottle of wine, and learn about wine investment in Asia from market leaders.
Every day from October 28 to October 31 2022, the resort will play host to a number of exclusive wine events where guests can take part in carefully curated food and wine pairing brunches and dinners. Special lunches will feature vintages from Maison Champagne Salon, Maison Champage Delamotte and Penfolds; and bespoke dinners featuring vintages from prestigious wineries such as Château Angélus, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion and Maison M. Chapoutier.
Fine wines will be complemented by fine food crafted by the world’s best Michelin-starred chefs including Guillaume Galliot (3 Michelin stars, Caprice, Hong Kong), Olivier Bellin (2 Michelin stars, L’Auberge des Glazicks, France), Thomas Groot (1 Michelin star, table65, Singapore), Scott Webster (Osia Steak and Seafood Grill, Singapore),Arnaud Dunand Sauthier (Maison Arnaud, Bangkok), and Cedric Vongerichten (Wayan, New York). Guillame Galliot, Chef de Cuisine at Caprice Hong Kong, and holder of 3 Michelin stars says: “To have the opportunity to participate in the Wine Pinnacle Awards – with its amazing programme featuring an impressive lineup, is an incredible honour for me.”
There is also a Wine Industry Symposium taking place on October 31 and November 1 where delegates will be able to dive into and discuss the key global themes and issues facing the international wine industry including areas such as economic growth and the impact of climate change. There will also be panel discussions featuring leading wine figures including: Karen MacNeil, author and journalist; Prue Henschke, head of Henschke; Jamie Ritchie, global chairman Sotheby’s Wine; Augustin Missoffe, managing director Asia Pacific for SOPEXA; James Miles, co-founder, Liv-ex; Guillaume Barraud, director of winemaking, Gerard Bertrand; and Julien Drevon, chief executive and co-founder, Pivēne.
Concluding the five-day celebration comes the Wine Pinnacle Awards Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony on November 1 held in the Resorts World Sentosa Ballroom.
- For more details about the Wine Pinnacle Awards, visit www.winepinnacle.com.
- You can follow the awards on social media at Instagram @winepinnacleawards and hashtags #WPA2022 #RWSmoments.
