Shaping Trends & Finding Gems

Judging Week 2022

Asian beverage professionals rely on the Cathay Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition’s (HK IWSC) guidance to choose the best beverages for their wine lists. It is the only competition dedicated to finding the best drinks to suit Asian tastes.

Judging for the 14th edition of HK IWSC, sister competition to London’s IWSC, was conducted in September at Arca Hotel Hong Kong. There, 56 of the world’s most respected beverage experts carefully considered hundreds of competition entrants to deliver their special brand of culturally appropriate advice for drinks lists.

Assembling these doyens of drinks is Debra Meiburg MW, the first Asian-based Master of Wine, Wine Consultant for Cathay Pacific Airways and Chair Emeritus of the Education Committee for the Institute of Masters of Wine. Debra was joined by award-

winning sommeliers, esteemed spirit experts, importers and industry leaders in the search for the best bottles and latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

Entries were submitted from all over the world and tasted first on their own, and then in the competition’s famous food and wine pairing category. The mouthwatering dishes for this year’s food and wine pairing competition were prepared by the talented chefs at Hong Kong Parkview. The winning drinks, embellished with a new sticker design, will guide buying decisions at top restaurants, hotels, bars and wine stores across Asia.

Only the best products pass the HK IWSC’s stringent judging process. All Gold winners require 95 points or above and are accompanied by tasting notes to help wineries market their wines in Asia. Gold and Silver winners have their scores published on electronic stickers.

The winning drinks, embellished with our new sticker design, will guide buying decisions at top restaurants, hotels, bars and wine stores across Asia.

The highly experienced team prepared and poured thousands of drinks for double-blind tasting and compiled and organised judges’ scores. For the first time, Repour was used to preserve the wines’ freshness for the evening’s Test Your Palate event, which invites drinks enthusiasts to taste the wines that were judged earlier that day.

Thai Green Curry Food Paring Judging

Thank you to the following partners for their continued support: Vintech, Icelandic Glacial Water, The Arca Hotel, KPMG, Spiegelau and the Craft Beer Association of Hong Kong.

The following pages reveal Asia’s best beverages, soon to appear on lists and shelves across the region, and the trends guiding drinks professionals around the world.

Micky Chan, Natalie Wang, Sarah Wong, Jacky Luk

HK IWSC 2022 Wine Judging