Hiroshima Miyoshi Winery's white wine scores 96, Japan's highest at Britain's DWWA

At the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2026, the international competition organised by the British wine magazine Decanter, the white wine “TOMOÉ Chardonnay Machizuki 2024” from Hiroshima Miyoshi Winery in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, was awarded a Gold medal. According to a report by the Chugoku Shimbun, this is the first time the winery has won a Gold at the competition.

Japan’s highest score for a wine: 96 points

“Machizuki 2024” scored 96 points, the highest of any Japanese wine entered this year. Chardonnay is the signature white grape variety of Burgundy in France and is made all over the world. At international competitions, therefore, wines are tasted directly against the same variety from other countries. A high rating for a Japanese wine in that setting is significant. In the photograph accompanying the report, the Gold-winning wine is shown alongside four labels that won Silver and Bronze medals.

Wine from inland Hiroshima

Hiroshima Prefecture lies in western Japan, on the Seto Inland Sea side of Honshu. The city of Miyoshi is in the north of the prefecture, in an inland basin surrounded by the Chugoku Mountains. Japanese producers won five Gold medals in total this year. Besides Miyoshi, they went to wines from Yoichi in Hokkaido and Tsuno in Miyazaki Prefecture, as well as to the major producers Mercian and Suntory. With regional wine areas from north to south and large makers all recognised, the results suggest the depth of Japanese wine.

For European readers: how to enjoy Japanese Chardonnay

Japanese wine is still not often seen in Europe. However, the DWWA results are published label by label on Decanter’s website, so they give you a starting point when talking to wine shops or importers. Look for the name “TOMOÉ”, or the names of the other producers that won Gold this time, in specialist shops that stock Japanese wine and on the wine lists of Japanese restaurants. When you taste it, putting it next to Chardonnay from Burgundy or other regions makes the differences between places of origin easier to notice. It is also well suited to seafood and delicate Japanese dishes. If you are a sake enthusiast, why not compare Japanese wine and sake at the same table?