The International Trophies – the pinnacle of the Awards – will be announced at the Decanter World Wine Awards dinner at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden on Wednesday 7 September and published on Decanter.com at midnight.

In the magazine, which is published to coincide with the dinner, all 8330 award-winning wines are listed, with full tasting notes for every wine winning Bronze medal or higher.

Each section is introduced by its regional chair – 30 of the world’s finest wine critics, with over 900 collective years in wine between them. 

As Awards chairman Steven Spurrier says in his introduction, ‘This stellar cast included not only 12 Master Sommeliers but 58 Masters of Wine, an impressive 20% of the current members of the Institute [of Masters of Wine].

Spurrier picks out half a dozen countries that have performed particularly well: Argentina, New Zealand and Australia in the New World, and France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece and Slovenia in the Old World.

Other highlights of the magazine include introductions to Regional Trophy winners like Warre’s Vintage Port 1980 or Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Delaine Vineyards Syrah 2007 from Niagara.

There are also mini-biographies of many of the 211 expert judges, such as Argentinian journalist Fabricio Portelli, Rebecca Palmer, associate director at Corney and Barrow, and Canadian sommellier Terry Threlfall, lately of Chez Bruce.

The issue also contains many of Decanter’s usual features: the Month in Wine, columns from Michael Broadbent, Andrew Jefford and Linda Murphy on the US wine scene – as well as an interview with gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh on his Passion for Wine.

The October issue of Decanter is out on Thursday 8 September.