Thessaloniki Wine & Spirits Trophy 2026 - entry submissions have opened

The “Thessaloniki Wine & Spirits Trophy” competition is delighted to announce its 26th edition, which will take place on 25, 26, and 27 February 2026 in Thessaloniki.

The competition, which began its journey in 1999, is addressed to Greek and Cypriot winemakers and distillers, consistently aiming at the qualitative development of their products and their promotion both in Greece and abroad.

Moreover, it enjoys the active support of all institutions of the viticulture and wine sector, the General Chemical State Laboratory, and the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

The President of the Competition is the Greek Master of Wine Mr. Konstantinos Lazarakis, a distinguished personality in the global wine industry, a fact that contributes to the smooth operation of the event as well as to the credibility of its results.

In the competitive part of the event, the President is supported by the Organizing Committee, composed of representatives of Greek wine institutions and associations, and by the Judging Committee, which consists of internationally renowned tasters, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, sommeliers, oenologists, and wine journalists.

The Judging Committee examines and evaluates the entries through a blind and double-coded tasting system, while scoring is carried out via a specially designed online application that ensures the integrity and transparency of the competition’s results.

For the 26th edition of the “Thessaloniki Wine & Spirits Trophy”, the platform for submitting entries of the wines and spirits to be judged will open on 5 January. More specifically, the dates for entry submissions and sample delivery are as follows:

Entry submissions: from Monday 05/01 to Tuesday 10/02/2026

*** Early bird: from Monday 05/01 to Friday 23/01/2026


Sample delivery: from Monday 02/02 to Friday 13/02/2026

We invite all Greek and Cypriot winemakers and distillers to participate in the “Thessaloniki Wine & Spirits Trophy 2026”, competing for the internationally recognized medals of the competition.

Furthermore, according to the Competition Regulations, medals are awarded to the best wines in each category—white, rosé, red, sparkling, sweet, and retsina—from which the Best Wine of the Competition is also selected, as well as to wines achieving the following scores:

• Gold Medal: 91–100 points
• Silver Medal: 88–90 point
• Bronze Medal: 85–87 points

In addition, single-varietal wines that have achieved the highest score within their respective variety are honored with a special distinction, thereby highlighting indigenous grape varieties of Greece and Cyprus.

Spirits are evaluated in a similar manner, from which the Best Spirit, Best Ouzo, and Best Gin are selected.

In this way, wines and spirits with high-quality characteristics are recognized and rewarded—an outcome that is subsequently acknowledged in the marketplace by consumers as well as hospitality professionals and beverage retail and distribution businesses.

Moreover, the awarded wines and spirits bear on their bottles the medal sticker or distinction they have received from the Competition, enabling them to stand out and be promoted both in the domestic market and internationally.

We eagerly look forward to the submission of wines and spirits for this year’s edition, confident that their quality will be outstanding and that the results will be exceptional.