Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2026 reveals several clear shifts shaping today’s global wine landscape, from regional identity to consumer value.
1. Great wine now comes from more places than ever
One of the strongest messages from DWWA 2026 is the continued expansion of fine wine geography, with medals awarded to wines from 56 countries.
Traditional benchmarks remain important, but outstanding wines are emerging from regions that would once have sat outside the classic fine wine conversation.
Examples include Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha receiving its first-ever Platinum medals and Valdejalón’s first Gold, Savoie, France’s first-ever Platinum, Pico in the Azores, Portugal securing its first Gold and Texas in the US making its debut on the Gold list with four medals while Virginia’s also showed its strongest performance.
Together, these milestones show how the map of fine wine continues to expand beyond its traditional heartlands.
2. Indigenous varieties are driving some of the most exciting wines in the world
DWWA 2026 was rich in wines produced from local and historic grape varieties, many of which delivered some of the competition’s most exciting results.
Plavac Mali from Croatia was awarded a Best in Show, Callet from Mallorca won Gold, Altesse from Savoie a Platinum, Robola from Greece secured a landmark Gold, Kisi from Georgia returned to the Platinum category as did Petite Arvine from Switzerland, Prieto Picudo (Castilla y León) and Albillo Mayor (Ribera del Duero) appeared among Spain’s top-scoring wines and Kerner received a first-ever Platinum for the variety in Alto-Adige, Italy.
For wine lovers seeking discovery beyond the international mainstream, the message is encouraging: local varieties are not only surviving, they are thriving.
3. Value has never looked stronger
Another major theme of the 2026 results is the strength of value-focused wines.
Alongside the expansion of the Top Value Gold list, one Value Platinum was awarded to Domaine De La Clartière, Terres De Paillé, Anjou, Loire, France 2024 – an award which the judges unanimously agreed upon due to unprecedented quality, irrespective of the price under £15 a bottle.
Strong value performances came from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Argentina and Australia, with several supermarket collaborations also appearing among Gold medal winners. Highlights include:
Asda, Exceptional Noble Riesling, Canterbury, New Zealand 2017
Boas Quintas, Gandarada, Dão, Portugal 2024
Cellier Des Dauphins, Réserve, Côtes du Rhône, Rhône, France 2025
Melini, Tesco finest*, Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany, Italy 2021
Sophenia, Altosur Malbec, Gualtallary, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina 2025
Spier, Villa Blue Albariño, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2025
Wirra Wirra, Church Block Grenache-Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia 2024
As competition intensifies globally, the relationship between quality and price is becoming increasingly favourable for wine drinkers.
4. Sparkling wine’s continued evolution
Champagne remains a benchmark, but DWWA 2026 showed how far sparkling wine excellence now extends beyond the region.
Italy’s Franciacorta earned its first-ever Best in Show for Freccianera, Satèn Brut 2022, English sparkling wine secured another Best in Show in magnum format (last year marking a landmark win) while the county of Berkshire received a historic Platinum.
Tasmania, Australia collected multiple sparkling Platinums, Brazil won a first-ever Gold for sparkling Moscato, Canada received a Platinum for sparkling Icewine, a third of Slovenia’s Golds went to sparkling expressions and Cava delivered a strong set of Gold medals.
The category is becoming increasingly international, with high-quality sparkling wine now emerging from a wider range of regions, climates and production traditions.
5. Orange wines are making their way into the mainstream
Alternative wine styles are now firmly established within the medal-winning landscape.
Argentina received its first-ever Gold medal for an orange wine, Georgia delivered a strong performance in orange wines with two Golds and 15 Silvers, Italy added another Gold-winning orange wine, France’s orange category continued to grow and Oxfordshire in England appeared among the medal winners with an orange wine.
The results indicate that styles once considered niche are being recognised for quality, consistency and craftsmanship at an international level.
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