About the National Women's Wine Competition, NWWC
The wine competition began as a “bolt out of the blue” in early 2005. Lea Pierce, a direct marketing consultant in the wine industry, was discussing wine competitions in general with a colleague when inspiration struck: “We should hold a national women’s wine competition!” she said.
Pierce understood that women buy 60-70% of all the wine in the U.S., creating an untapped opportunity to create a competition judged entirely by women. The results would create the first “woman-to-woman roadmap of the wine industry™,” helping professional wine buyers and consumers identify wines that women enjoy – and helping wineries sell more wine.
After two years of work and development, the first competition was staged in 2007 in Santa Rosa, California.
The competition was a smash success. First-year wine competitions typically garner 200-400 entries. But the time was ripe for the idea, and the first-year competition astounded the producers and wine industry alike by attracting nearly 1900 entries, with press inquires from as far away as Romania.
More importantly, the first-year competition attracted 30 of the leading women winemakers, buyers, writers, and critics in the U.S. wine industry. The judges tasted 1866 wines limited to U.S. producers and awarded over 1,000 medals. Highlights and full results of the 2007 competition can be viewed on our 2007 Awards and Results page.