Decanter Asia Wine Awards judging begins in Hong Kong for second year

Judging for the annual Decanter Asia Wine Awards got underway in Hong Kong today, as the competition opened for its second year.

Forty four experts from across Asia will assess wines drawn from a cross-section of the Asia market, over four days of judging at Cyberport in Hong Kong.

With an improved judging line-up for the second year, new judges for 2013 include Yoichi Sato (Japan), Denis Lin (Taiwan), Chris So (Hong Kong) and Shan Huang (China).

The results will be published on DecanterChina.com on 23rd October, before the coveted International Trophies are unveiled at ProWine China in Shanghai in November.

The Decanter Asia Wine Awards began in 2012, and quickly became Asia’s largest wine competition. Today, entries from nearly thirty countries will be judged for typicity in multiple flights of like-for-like wines, before being awarded medals, and for a select few, Regional and International Trophies.

Under the co-chairmanship of Steven Spurrier and Jeannie Cho Lee MW, the competition is focussed on wines available in the Asia market, and rewards wines deemed to have true quality by leading palates in Asia. Judges taste in panels under the watchful eye of the competition’s vice-chairs, Gerard Basset MS MW, CH’NG Poh Tiong, Michael Hill-Smith MW AM, Andrew Jefford, and Shinya Tasaki.

As well promoting the results at fairs across Asia and as part of the Asia tastings programme in partnership with Enomatic, for the first time this year, award-winning wines will be showcased at a special consumer tasting in Hong Kong in November, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The Decanter Asia Wine Awards is sponsored by Riedel, San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna.