The Competition

Sélections Mondiales des Vins is an international wine tasting competition, based in Montreal, a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the largest wine competition in North America, and the only one under the patronage of VINOFED and the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV).

What is a wine tasting competition?

A wine competition is an event where wine samples are submitted for evaluation by a panel of professional judges. The aim of the competition is to identify the best wines in different categories according to several oenological criteria to determine their quality. Wine competitions can be organized locally, regionally, nationally or internationally and are often used to promote and market award-winning wines.

Dates importantes - Édition 2024

The only competition in North America under the patronage of VINOFED and the OIV

Sélections Mondiales des Vins is the only competition in North America under the patronage of VINOFED and the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV).

With its OIV observer status, VINOFED collaborates in the development and revision of the OIV Standard for international wine and spirits competitions and the guidelines for granting OIV patronage.

The objective of VINOFED is to ensure the absolute credibility of the results of its member competitions. The federation also guarantees the authenticity and high quality of the award-winning wines and spirits in order to grant them the VINOFED mention.

VINOFED gives producers the assurance that their products have been evaluated according to well-defined rules by competent tasters from around the world. It strengthens consumer confidence by guaranteeing the quality of award-winning products.

A rigorous competition

The responsibility of the competition is to offer optimal tasting conditions so that the jury can draw up a representative portrait of the wine and evaluate it accordingly. This means:

  • adequate storage of wines, in order to respect the evolution of olfactory and taste intensities;
  • strict temperature control;
  • juries made up of a variety of professionals: oenologists, journalists, sommeliers and professional buyers.

The medals

30% of the registered wines will be awarded medals. These vary according to the number of points obtained by the wines presented.

The Grand Gold Medal is awarded to wines with a score of 93 points or more.

The Gold medal is awarded to wines with a score between 90 and 92 points.

The Silver medal is awarded to wines with a score between 87 and 89 points.

The Best of Show Medal is awarded to wines that have obtained the highest rating in their country.

Why register for the Sélections Mondiales des Vins?

Canada and the United States are among the most competitive markets in the world, and this trend will continue over the long term. Sélections Mondiales des Vins enjoys great notoriety and is gaining momentum year after year with the Canadian wine industry. The contest’s reputation spans all of the country’s monopolies, including the SAQ in Quebec, LBCO in Ontario, and BCLDB in British Columbia. The private sector is not left out, as SMV maintains a permanent link with all import agencies in Canada.

For a fourth year, Sélections Mondiales des Vins is renewing its partnership with the SAQ, which will preselect 25 wines from the “Top 50” of the best SMV scores. These will be introduced in the SAQ catalog and eventually put on sale according to the needs of the marketing team.

A recent survey states that 7 out of 10 consumers say they are very influenced by the medallions affixed to the winning bottles. SMV’s notoriety and its significant contribution in terms of North American visibility are important incentives for participating in the contest.

Sélections Mondiales des Vins works in partnership with A3 Québec, an association representing the most important promotional agents in the province. Thanks to this collaboration, producers can benefit from the expertise of its members and be put in touch with importers.

“The Sélections Mondiales des Vins competition is very professional and has high quality standards. It is very important to participate in it, in order to analyze the positioning offer of your own brands among the competition. It is a relevant instrument to improve sales in these markets and show the high quality of distinguished wines to buyers and consumers.”

Teresa Colaço Do Rosario

Journalist, wine columnist

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