Romania consolidates an international benchmark in wine evaluation.

VINARIUM International Wine Contest, the most important international wine competition in Central and South-Eastern Europe, reaches its XXIII edition in 2026.

The competition will take place between May 28–31, 2026, reconfirming Romania’s role as a relevant validation-communication platform in the global wine industry.

Organized by ASER Wine Consulting, VINARIUM Association, în partnership with ADAR – Romanian Authorized Tasters Association, under the patronage of OIV – International Organisation of Vine and Wine, of VINOFED – World Federation of Major International Wine and Spirits Competitions și al FIJEV – Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers, the competition operates entirely according to OIV international regulations.

Since 2026, another leading entity has endorsed the activity of VINARIUM: Union Internationale des Œnologues (UIOE) – the International Union of Oenologists.

Founded in Milan in 1965 by Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, UIOE represents the national oenologists’ unions worldwide and defends the professional status of the oenologist in all relevant international forums.

At the 2026 edition, VINARIUM has as its official observer on behalf of the UIOE Prof. Dr. Monika Christmann from Germany, Vice-President of the UIOE and Honorary President of the OIV.

VINARIUM – WineSearcher.com Partnership

VINARIUM award-winning wines are listed on the leading wine search platform WineSearcher.com, which gives wines added visibility and credibility on the international market. Thus, producers who are listed on this platform benefit from a strong commercial argument.

Registration of samples in the competition

Registrations for the XXIII edition are open until April 25, 2026.

Details: www.iwcb.ro

According to the OIV regulations, the following are admitted:

  • still wines
  • sparkling wines
  • distillates of wine origin

Judging is electronic and carried out exclusively based on the OIV tasting sheet.

Categories added in recent years by VINARIUM:

  • BIO Wines
  • Amber/Orange and Qvevri/Amphorae Wines
  • Alcohol-free Wines

VINARIUM Medals

According to the OIV Regulations, a maximum of 30% of the samples entered în the competition can obtain a medal.

The scores for the medals are as follows:

  • Great Gold Medal (93–100 points)
  • Gold Medal (89–92.9 points)
  • Silver Medal (85–88.9 points)

Special awards granted by international organizations and partners

  • VINOFED – awards for the highest-scoring dry wines (white, rosé, red, sparkling)
  • FIJEV – awards for the highest-scoring Romanian wines from local varieties or blends with at least 50% Romanian varieties
  • IPPU Prime Label & KURZ Romania – awards for excellence in design, packaging and labeling; consist of the production of 5,000 sets of labels (front and back), made to high professional standards