General Terms and Conditions of DWM - Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH relating to the Wine Trophies (Berliner, Asia, and Portugal)

§ 1 General

The Berliner Wein Trophy, Portugal Wine Trophy and Asia Wine Trophy are annual competitions organised by Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH (DWM) in Germany, Portugal and South Korea. A neutral, international jury reviews the quality of the wines submitted and rates them according to the international standards of the OIV (Organisation internationale de la vigne et du vin). This award gives the winners prestige and improved marketing opportunities. The Wine Trophy award guarantees consumers a high-quality product and facilitates buying decisions.

§ 2 Participants

All individuals and legal entities, insofar as they are manufacturers or distributors of wines and sparkling wines, may participate in the Trophies. Wines from all international wine-growing areas, insofar as they are in a marketable condition, may be submitted. Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH is highly committed to supporting the serious wine trade and maintaining a good image. For this reason, producers or wine-sellers who infringed against wine laws or any other legal provisions in the past few years, and who were convicted by a court of general jurisdiction for this very reason, are excluded from participating in the Trophies.

§ 3 Admission terms

In order to be admitted to the Trophies, the following criteria must be met: the product must comply with the German Wine Law and the respective national regulations as well as the Directives of the European Union. Products of the following categories are admitted:

• Still wines (white, red, rosé)
• Sparkling wines (white, red, rosé)
• Half sparkling wines (white, red, rosé)
• Fortified and Liquor (e.g. Sherry, Port wine, Malaga, Madeira, etc)

There are no restrictions whatsoever concerning the types of vine, types of vine purity, flavours, or various manufacturing and cultivation methods. In our contests cannot participate beverages such as brandy (cognac), sangria, grappa, vermouth, ouzo, pisco, or any others containing flavourings or additives which are not properly regulated by OIV.

Samples from German wine-growing areas must reach at least quality level “Quality wine b.A”. Prizes can only be awarded to samples in standard containers for the bulk and end consumer. The applicant must have a sufficient quantity of the submitted wines in the store.

§ 4 Terms of Participation

Participants must submit four bottles of each nominated sample. This is necessary because in addition to the three bottles required for tasting in accordance with the OIV guidelines, one bottle of each nominated wine must be stored for a period of one year by DWM. One fully completed sample passport must be presented for each nominated sample. The information provided in the sample passport is definitive for all publications and documents. Only such samples that have been custom cleared and delivered carriage paid to the address provided will be entered for participation in the Wine Trophies. Samples, which have not been received at least ten days prior to the respective tasting shall be excluded from participation in the competition.

§ 5 Participation Fees

The participation fee for each sample submitted is €145.00. In Germany, a statutory added amount is to be paid as legal VAT. For countries in the European Union and other third-party countries, VAT is not incurred with the presentation of a valid VAT ID number. In order to give individual winegrowers the opportunity to increase their participation, the following special regulations have been introduced for wine-producing companies:

The individual producers are grouped according to the size of their operation, with the surface area of their vineyards serving as the basis for the calculation. The participation fee for these companies is also €145.00 per fee. The following scale applies:

AreaFeesWinesAdditional Wines
0 to 5 ha112 – 3 free*
5.1 to 10 ha223 – 6 free*
10.1 to 15 ha334 – 9 free*
15.1 to 20 ha445 – 12 free*
20.1 to 25 ha556 – 15 free*
25.1 to 30 ha667 – 18 free*
30.1 to 35 ha778 – 21 free*
35.1 to 40 ha889 – 24 free*
40.1 to 50 ha9910 – 27 free*
over 50 ha101011 – 30 free*
*each additional fee covers 3 extra wines

The calculation is always based on the actual number of wines submitted, whereby the size of the wine-producing company is definitive for the maximum applicable number of fees. The regulation does not apply to wine-producing companies which increase their production through the additional purchase of grapes, must, or cask wine. They will be charged according to the number of submitted wines. DWM reserves the right to check the indicated size of the companies, and in the event of any discrepancies to use the actual size as the basis for calculating fees.

Should more wines be submitted than are covered by the hectare-dependent fee, these will be calculated with the same key (3 wines – 1 fee). If fewer wines are submitted than are covered by the hectare-dependent fee, then the fee will be calculated based on the actual number of submitted wines. The participation fees must be paid in full to Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH at least 10 days in advance of the requisite tasting. Otherwise, the submitted sample will be excluded from the tasting. You will find a detailed sample invoice on our website under the item – Participation Fees.

§ 6 – Rights

(1) Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH (DWM) is the exclusive owner of all rights pertaining to the logos of the Berliner, Asia and Portugal Wine Trophies and associated illustrations of medals (Grand Gold, Gold and Silver). Any production, use or modification of the logo or medals that contravene the following terms is strictly prohibited and offenders will be prosecuted.

(2) Prize winners are entitled to incorporate an illustration of their medal on the label of the official prize-winning batch of wine (the right to display the medal). This can happen either by the DWM providing the wine producer with a limited number of stickers (the ‘sticker right’) or by the producer himself being granted the right to print a limited number of labels bearing an illustration of the medal (the ‘print right’). The producer should select one of these two illustration options when filling out the order form.

(3) Sticker right: If the prizewinner opts for the ‘sticker right’ the appropriate number of medal stickers will be offered for sale by the DWM to the prizewinner. These stickers may then be attached to the bottles of the prizewinning batch. The producer is not entitled to print or otherwise reproduce the medal stickers.

(4) Printing right: Prizewinners opting for the ‘printing right’ are entitled to incorporate an illustration of the relevant medal and to display these labels on bottles containing the prize-winning product. The layout of the illustration will be provided in digital format by the DWM.

The producer is not permitted to carry an illustration of the medal outside the standard wine label on the bottle or to modify the appearance of the medal. Any print modifications required to allow compatibility with the existing label must be cleared with the DWM prior to printing.

(5) An example of the wine label bearing the medal must be sent to the DWM by email or post to enable the sale to be documented.

§ 7 – Awards for wines submitted as barrel samples and initial batches.

(1) Wine may also be submitted for judging in the form of barrel samples or initial batches. Such samples or initial batches must be clearly identified as such and should be accompanied by an oenological analysis.

(2) If a barrel sample or initial batch wins a prize the rights detailed in § 6 will be granted only where the wine producer presents a new analysis for each additional batch and provides the DWM with the relevant lot or batch numbers together with three cross-samples per lot or batch number for the purpose of analysis before the wine is offered for sale. All costs are to be paid by the wine producer.

(3) Any constituent differences identified between the prize-winning sample and the batch it relates to must not exceed the levels set out in Regulation (EC) No. 606/2009 and associated annexes and appendices. If these levels are exceeded successive batches may not bear the medal awarded for the sample.

(4) If the producer fails to present an analysis relating to the batch or batch number, the DWM is entitled to undertake an analysis of its own. For orders up to 100,000 stickers or print runs up to 200,000 labels the producer will bear the cost of this analysis. For orders or print runs above these quantities, the DWM will cover the cost of the analysis.

§ 8 – Unauthorised use of the medal

(1) The right to use stickers or illustrations of the medal awarded is granted only to prize-winning producers and only for the registered quantity of wine represented by the sample submitted.

(2) Where the wine has not been submitted by the producer but by a third party (distributor, importer, wholesaler or retailer etc), the producer must obtain permission from the submitting party and the DWM to use stickers or illustrations of the medal. The same applies to third parties who seek to sell under their own name a prize-winning wine submitted or produced by a different party.

(3) The right to use stickers or illustrations of the medal awarded is not transferable to other wines or batches. Where it can be demonstrated that the medal has been used without authorisation the DWM is entitled to exclude the infringing party from future participation in the Berlin Wine Trophy competition. The DWM’s right to claim for damages and other losses remains unaffected.

(4) Unjustified use of the medals will be penalised with 25.000€ or 0,04 €/bottle.

§ 9 – Bottling under a different label

If a prize-winning sample or batch of wine is to be sold under a different label or trade name, the DWM should be informed of this before the wine is offered for sale and must have been provided with new analysis, two cross-samples and the relevant lot or batch numbers. § 7 Paras 2 to 4 apply.

§ 10 – Guidance and Organisation of the Events

The Trophies will be organised according to the guidelines of the OIV (Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin) and under the Legal Regulation of the Federal Republic of Germany. All the details about the guidelines of the OIV are available on the website www.oiv.int. In addition to organizational regulations, these also include specifications regarding the composition of jury groups and set limits to the number of wines tasted per judge to a maximum of 50 wines a day.

§ 11 – Jury

In accordance with the OIV guidelines, the jury is made up of tasters with a high degree of professional expertise and from different international locations. Each jury member has an impeccable reputation. The Trophies are conducted in accordance with the international OIV guidelines. These include an assessment based on a 100 point formula. The wines are assigned into categories based on the completed sample passports. The jury tastes the wines served as covered samples without the ability to see the container in which the wine was submitted. The tasting takes place under the supervision of a notary.

§ 12 – Special Awards

In addition to the rewarded medals, special awards are also presented. These special prizes are included in the maximum number of awarded samples (30% of submitted products). An exact list of the defined special awards can be found on our website under the item – Special Awards –

Special Awards medals can only be applied to products that have been awarded at least 82 points by the international expert jury in one of our competitions (Berliner, Portugal or Asia Wine Trophy). With regard to the identity, § 6, 7 and 9 apply.

§ 13 – Legal Venue

The legal venue for any disputes is Berlin.