New York Wine Classic 2023
Organized annually by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, the New York Wine Classic celebrates a diverse selection of world-class wines from producers within the State. Entries for this year’s competition will be accepted beginning March 1, 2023.
Top award winners will be announced live during the 2023 Classic Virtual Awards Ceremony in July (date TBA). The complete list of individual wine results will be released following the event and published on our website.
NYWGF has partnered again with the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) to judge wines submitted. Scores will be awarded by BTI’s trained sensory panel comprised of beverage directors, sommeliers, top bartenders, retail buyers and educators.
*NYWGF members receive a $10 discount per entry. Check your membership email newsletters or contact Jennifer Cooper to receive the code to save.
Competition Rules
The competition is open to any wine produced in and bearing an approved New York AVA as established by the TTB.
A complete listing of New York AVAs can be found here: https://www.ttb.gov/wine/established-avas#New-York
- Finger Lakes/Cayuga/Seneca
- Hudson River/Upper Hudson River
- Lake Champlain
- Lake Erie
- Long Island/North Fork/Hamptons
- New York/New York State
- Niagara Escarpment OR a New York County
The competition is also open to specialty wines (non-grape wines) and mead produced in New York State.
Non-grape wines and mead will have their own award and are not eligible for the Governor’s Cup round.
- All entries must be commercially available in New York state at the time of entry
- All bottles must have a government-approved label attached
- Varietal wines must contain 75% of the labeled grape variety, otherwise it must be entered as a blend
- In order to be eligible for the Winery of the Year Award, a winery must enter seven (7) or more grape wines
- There will only be a Best of Class winner for a given class if there are 7 or more entries in the class and at least one entry achieves a gold medal.
The entry deadline is April 1st. The deadline for samples is April 15th.
FAQs
BTI’s Points-to-Medals conversion scale:
- 96-100 – Superlative (Platinum Medal)
- 90-95 – Exceptional (Gold Medal)
- 85-89 – Highly Recommended (Silver Medal)
- 80-84 – Recommended (Bronze Medal)
- 79/NR – Not Recommended (No Medal)
For this engagement, BTI’s Platinum medal would be equivalent to a Double Gold medal.
You can read more about BTI’s methodology and judging panel at: https://bevtest.com/lab/
Ship Two (2) 750 ml bottles or equivalent to:
The Lab
OK Imports, LLC
4849 North Milwaukee Avenue
Suite 303
Chicago, IL 60660
Provide shipper with our phone 773-930-4080 and email reviews@bevtest.com
Our facility is temperature-controlled, you may ship as early as you like. Bottles will be appropriately stored and cared for based on style.
Top award winners will be announced live during the 2023 Classic Virtual Awards Ceremony (date TBA). The complete list of individual wine results will be released following the event and published on our website.
Still have questions?
If you are a winery with questions regarding submissions reach out to BTI’s Client Marketing Manager via e-mail Diana@bevtest.com or call 773-930-4080.
If you have any questions regarding this year’s competition, reach out to Jennifer Cooper, Membership & Events Manager at: jennifercooper@nywgf.org or call 315-924-3700.