COMPETITION RULES 2026

Citadelles du Vin, an international competition for wines, wine-based drinks, alcoholic drinks based on other ingredients and spirit drinks, is organised in order to:
• Endorse, honour and present the best products to buyers and consumers around the world by undertaking actions that target both the trade and the general public to help promote award-winning products and boost sales.
• Organise or take part in professional events in France or abroad, to provide good visibility and facilitate contacts with professionals in the fields of tasting, the media and purchasing.
• Do everything possible to guarantee the best selection of products from around the world, judged with complete impartiality and totally independently.
• Encourage the production of fine products and stimulate their intelligent consumption as a civilising influence.

• Contribute to the spread of these products culture.

The competition is open to all wines, special wines, winebased drinks, with possible alcohol content correction, (No-Low), alcoholic drinks based on other ingredients, and spirits produced in accordance with regulations :
• in the country of origin, for countries outside the European Union,
• in Europe, for products from EU member states,
• in France, for French products.
All these products must be labelled with an indication of the country of origin where the raw material was harvested and vinvified.

All participants must submit a duly-completed registration form corresponding to the product presented and make the relevant payment by cheque or bank transfer (postal registration) or by cheque, credit card or bank transfer (online registration) to the Citadelles du Vin before the deadline indicated on the competition website.
The COMPANY NAME or the NAME indicated in the ‘ENTRANT IDENTIFICATION’ section, as well as the ‘PRODUCT DETAILS’ section will be used on the DIPLOMA,
the LIST OF AWARD WINNERS, and all CORRESPONDENCE.
Incomplete forms will not be registered and the products will not be presented in the tasting. No fees will be reimbursed in that case.

Registration fees are as follows:
• € 130 exclusive of VAT for 1 registered item.
• € 120 exclusive of VAT by item, for 2 registered items.
• € 100 exclusive of VAT by item, for 3 or more registered items. 

These fees must be paid on registration. If the registration fees have not been paid, the products will not be presented in the competition. In compliance with European legislation, the organisers of an international event held in France are obliged to add 20 % tax (French VAT) to fees paid by all French participants, as well as those from the European Union who do not submit a VAT number. An invoice is sent to each participant by return.
In case of cancellation, the organisers retain all fees paid on registration, irrespective of the reasons for cancellation by a participant or by the organisers, except in the case stipulated in the last paragraph of Article 12.

Samples presented for the competition must be taken from a homogeneous batch intended for consumption. The samples will be sent by the entrants who pledge on the honor of the representativeness of the presented batch. The minimum volume of the batch presented shall be at least 1,000 litres. Samples from smaller batches may be admitted to the competition, provided the total volume is no less than 100 litres.
For each entry, participants must send before the deadline indicated on the competition website:
– 4 BOTTLES of 0.75 litre or 6 BOTTLES for containers less than or equal to 0.50 litre, by registered sample,
– Except for spirit drinks: 2 BOTTLES whatever the container volume.
These bottles must be labelled with their legal commercial packaging bearing the name or brand claimed on the registration form and the mandatory information.
Samples must be accompanied by:
– For wines: official analysis results less than one year old, identifying the samples and giving values for the following analytical parameters:
• actual and potential alcohol content by volume at 20°C, expressed in % vol,
• sugars (glucose + fructose), expressed in g/L,
• total acidity, expressed in mEq/L,
• volatile acidity, expressed in mEq/L,
• total dioxide of sulphur or total sulphur dioxide, expressed in mg/L,
• sparkling wines: excess pressure due to carbon dioxide expressed in bars.
• semi-sparkling wines: CO2 expressed in mg/L.
– For all other products: official analysis results less than one year old, identifying the samples and the analytical parameters adapted to these products.
– The statement of entitlement for wines entitled to a protected appellation of origin or geographical indication or the certification request for French products not entitled to a geographical indication presented with an indication of their vintage or grape variety or an official document proving the origin for non-French products.

– Relevant certification for products made from organicallygrown grapes.

– A consignment note: participants must ship their samples DDP (Incoterms 2020 Delivered Duty Paid, CRD for France, with e-SAD for EU countries, with shipping costs, customs’ duties and taxes paid by the sender).
Samples must be shipped to the following address: Citadelles du Vin – Rue Ulysse Lainé – 33710 BOURG – France. 
Any samples received after the due date, that do not correspond to the registration form or not registered in advance (art. 3) will not be presented for tasting but remain the property of Citadelles du Vin.

Samples admitted to the competition are placed in a special container during tasting to hide the shape of the bottle and ensure their anonymity. The original corks are changed before the competition. The samples are classified, divided into groups by product type and presented for tasting according to their vintage, sugar content and the aromatic intensity of the grape variety. If fewer than three samples are registered in a particular category, they will not be included in the competition. The registration fees will be reimbursed in that case.

The competition organisers, wishing to ensure that the samples submitted are representative, may organise a downstream inspection, appointing technicians and experts approved by them to take samples of products claiming an award, anywhere in France or abroad. These samples may be analysed for comparison with the initial samples submitted.

Each product is tasted by a panel of 5 tasters. All the judges have technical expertise in tasting. Most are oenologists. The judges are selected from a list of competent professionals for each category.
Each jury has a president, whose duties include liaising with the organisers and ensuring that the jury functions properly.
The competition organisers collect sworn statements from panel members, disclosing any direct or indirect links with firms, establishments, professional organisations, or associations whose activities, products, or interests may concern those presented in the competition.

O.I.V. has delegated an expert for the full duration of the competition. He submits a report on how the competition took place. Based on this report, or due to any other information they have received, O.I.V. can withdraw their approval at any time.

The organisers award Grand Gold, Gold or Silver Medals to the samples that receive the highest scores from the tasters.
The total number medals awarded tmay not exceed one third of the samples entered in the competition. An award may only be given if there are at least three distinct samples competing in a given category. Each winner has the right to publish the results for their product.

Special prizes are awarded every year for categories chosen by Citadelles du Vin. These Prizes are awarded to Grand Gold or Gold medal-winning products with the highest score in their category, provided that over 10 samples have been entered in the category concerned.

Each participant will be informed of the competition results by E-mail. This will specify the name of the competition, the category in which the product competed, the “possible” distinction awarded, the product identification the declared volume, and the name and address of the owner.
The winners has personal access to the competition website to obtain an oenographic chart (a “radar” graph of the tasting comments).
Citadelles du Vin issues a diploma to each winner as well as a trophy to each special prize winner.

In order to display the awards on the bottel, the organisation offer the following items for sale to winners for award-winning products:

– adhesive MEDALS,

– EXEMPTIONS (reproduction of the medal on the label).
Winners who wish to reproduce medals won at Citadelles du Vin on their labels, must apply for these rights. The awards obtained can only be displayed by these means. All unauthorised copies are strictly prohibited and punishable by law.
The number of adhesive medals supplied or rights granted for an award-winning product shall not exceed the number of bottles declared on the registration form.

Citadelles du Vin organisers reserve the right to have awardwinning samples analysed by an approved laboratory and take any subsequent steps they may deem necessary. Operators who entered an award-winning product in the competition and the organisers are each obliged to retain a sample of the product in their possession, accompanied by its REGISTRATION FORM and analysis results.
These samples shall be made available to inspectors for one year starting from the competition date.

After that date, the bottles may be used for promotional or training purposes.

Samples that have not won awards are immediately available for use by Citadelles du Vin.
For all samples, The REGISTRATION FORM and analysis results shall be made available to inspectors for five years starting from the competition date.

Entrants are legally liable for all information entered on the registration form. Citadelles du Vin may check its accuracy by all legal means, particularly concerning the conformity of the product found on the market with the control sample held by Citadelles du Vin.
In the event of a dispute or litigation with Citadelles du Vin, and regardless of the nationality of the parties involved, the Court of Bordeaux (France) shall have sole jurisdiction. Only the French texts of documents issued by the competition have any official validity.

The Control Committee, consisting of at least three members of the CDV (Concours Des Vins) association, is responsible for ensuring compliance with the competition rules and submit the following to the DREETS Nouvelle-Aquitaine:
• 2 months before the competition is held: a statement specifying the date and location of the competition, as well as the competition rules.
• Within 2 months after the competition, at the latest: minutes signed by the Head of the Inspection Commission, confirming that the competition was held according to the regulations and including, in particular:
◊ The number of products presented in the competition, overall and by category.
◊ The number of award-winning products, overall and by category.
◊ The list of award-winning products and the details identifying each award-winning product and its owner.
◊ The percentage of award-winning products in relation to the number of products presented.
◊ The number of awards and their distribution by product type.

The organisers cannot, in any case, be held liable if an external event prevents the competition from being held under normal conditions.

The wine competition is officially approved (decree of February 13rd, 2013 – Official Journal of February 22nd, 2013) and the awards given may be used in all forms of advertising subject to certain conditions (art.10).