A judging panel comprising 27 globally-recognized wine experts gathered in Macau for the Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards in March to honor China’s premium winemakers. — Photo by Wynn Resorts

MACAU – Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace welcomed an international panel of 27 esteemed judges, including seven Masters of Wine, to participate in the inaugural Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards, the first-ever awards program dedicated to premium Chinese wines. Supported by Macao Government Tourism Office, the event is poised to be the world's biggest Chinese wine Competition of international standard with the winners to be announced at an awards ceremony at Wynn Palace on April 13. 

As part of awards program, from March 1 – 5 wine enthusiasts descended on Macau to take part in a series of exclusive wine dinners and Masterclasses presented by some of the world's most authoritative wine experts.

Ms. Linda Chen, President, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, Limited said, "Wynn is honored to welcome a group of globally-acclaimed wine experts on the Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards judging panel and support us with this prestigious event. Not only will the awards provide an unprecedented opportunity to showcase premium Chinese wines on a global stage, and celebrate the excellence of the Chinese wine industry, but they also reinforce Macau's position as a UNESCO-designated 'Creative City of Gastronomy'."

Mr. Cheng Wai Tong, Deputy Director of Macao Government Tourism Office said at the event, "The Macao Government Tourism Office is delighted to see the industry actively organizing diverse events and developing unique tourism products and services, providing travelers with a variety of experiences."

The Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards initiative aims to provide Chinese winemakers with strategic support to enhance their presence in high-end markets. The award-winning wines will also receive the "Wynn Signature Award" label and be invited to participate in national masterclasses, hospitality events, media tastings, and major banquets.

The panel of global wine experts assessed and ranked over 750 submissions gathered from nearly 200 China's premium wineries, all competing for the ultimate honor of claiming the Wynn Signature Best Wine of China Trophy. Winemakers are also vying for additional trophies that showcase the breadth of major varietal expressions and regionality in China.

The prestigious panel of judges include Masters of Wines, Master Sommeliers, winemakers, educators, journalists, hoteliers, and wine buyers. The esteemed lineup includes: Eddie McDougall, Chair of Judges; Chris Ashton, Chief of Stewards and three Vice Chairs who are highly accredited Master of Wines: Fongyee Walker MW, Gus Zhu MW and Andrew Caillard MW will lead an impressive line-up of judges which include Kenichi Ohashi MW; Julien Boulard MW; Tim Triptree MW; Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux author); Ronny Lau (Chairman, Greater China Wine Critics Association); Simon Tam (Commentator and former Christie's Head of Wine, Asia); Erin Larkin (Wine Advocate Editor); Reeze Choi (World No. 3 Sommelier); Xiao Pi (China's leading Wine KOL); David Xing (China's leading Wine KOL), Della Tang (Best Sommelier of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2023), Janet Wang (The Chinese Wine Renaissance author) and many more.

Wynn will ensure the competition adopts an authoritative and professional evaluation system, involving a professional external auditing firm to assess the accuracy of the judges' scores and conduct random background inspections of the wineries in competition. This award has established an unparalleled international exchange event for participating wines.

In addition to judging duties, the distinguished experts also served as hosts for eight exclusive wine events at Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau. Over four days, wine enthusiasts, gastronomes and industry experts were treated to a series of Masterclasses, specialty wine dinners, forums and presentations from some of the world's most respected wine experts.