The World's 50 Best Vineyards list provides an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of 720 international wine industry experts and acts as a globally recognised reference point to showcase and celebrate exceptional vineyards from all corners of the Earth.
What constitutes ‘best’ is left to the judgement of these trusted and well-travelled experts. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria, apart from the stipulation that the vineyard must be open to the general public, but there are strict voting rules. From 2022, members of the Hall of Fame group, which is made up of former No.1 vineyards on the list, are not eligible in the annual ranking. Voters are asked to nominate the overall experiences they deem to be the best in the world and would highly recommend to a friend.
The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list and awards are organised and compiled by William Reed Limited. None of the employees of the organiser, or any sponsors associated with the awards, are part of the voting Academy. The list is created from the votes of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards Academy, comprising more than 700 global wine and travel experts. To create the Academy the world is divided into 20 regions, each with an Academy Chair at the lead. The Academy Chair is responsible for recruiting 36 voters from their region. At least 25% of the panellists from each region are refreshed each year to ensure the list remains dynamic and representative.
The panel in each region is made up of sommeliers, wine journalists, travel and wine tourism experts and international wine trade – each of whom have 7 votes. Some regions contain more than one country. The decision as to how the world is divided up is left to the organiser and Academy Chairs and is debated annually.
