Wines of the South is an annual regional wine competition designed to promote and celebrate the great tastes of Southern vintages. Wineries in fourteen southern states are invited to submit wines for the competition.

2019 marked the 18th annual year for the Wines of the South competition. Wines of the South medals and awards are recognized by consumers and distributors throughout the United States.

Our Medals consist of the following:  Concordance Gold (unanimous Gold ranking), Gold, Silver, and Bronze

We are proud to have wineries represent our competition and we are committed to promoting their achievements along the way!  Thank you again for your continued or new involvement with the Wines of the South Competition. We look forward to your participation and want to remind you that if you have any questions, concerns, or comments about the competition to contact us as we are eager to help and wish to see your winery succeed!

Timeline:

2001:

The Competition was inspired by a group of friends working together on a wine competition just for Tennessee wineries hosted by the Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Association. They wanted to make a wine competition with neighboring states where a variety of wineries and vineyards could participate with their unique products, and from there it all began!

2001-2010:

Dr.Bill Morris of the Food Science & Technology department of the University of Tennessee was among the original group that developed the competition and therefore he was designated as the first ever, Wines of the South Competition, coordinator. He greatly developed the competition over the years and was faithful to promote the successful event it had become.

2011-2013:

Dr.Carol Costello of the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism department at the University of Tennessee began to carry on the legacy of the annual regional Wines of the South Competition due to Dr.Morris retiring. Dr.Costello's knowledge and passion for wine and excellent events, led to her elevated accomplishments during her time coordinating the competition.

2014-Current:

Dr.Mark Morgan of the University of Tennessee's Food Science department took the reigns of the Wines of the South Competition following Dr.Costello's retirement in 2013. The 2014 WOS event was the first year for Dr. Morgan to coordinate the competition and it was quite a success.  Our 2015 competition included a new category "Best Muscadine" since the southeast is know for Muscadine grapes.  The 2017 competition saw the addition of the Governor’s Cup Award, given to the top wines in each East, Middle, and West Tenneessee as well as a Cider element.