There were 343 applications this year. The eight winners were said to be chosen by a multi-national panel of leading tourism experts from 50 local ‘best of‘ winners from eight great wine capitals.
The international winners for 2015 are:
- Rioja's historic Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta; for its restoration of Ygay Castle founded in 1852 and built by Luciano Murrieta, the first owner and driving force of the winery.
- The St Emilion estate, Château La Croizille, for the architecture of its new cellar and magnificent reception room in the stylish modern building can accommodate up to 100 people.
- Waterford Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, famed for service excellence, in a destination estate, offering a variety of informative, authentic, fun and innovative tasting options.
- The 17th-generation at Weingut Dr Hinkel in Framershein; for its innovative approach where the winery offers colour-wine tasting in its specifically equipped wine event room.
- Trapiche, which is Argentina's biggest wine producer and a multi-award winner as well as one of the first Argentine wineries to enter the international scene.
- Museu do Douro - Museu de Território in Portugal whose objective is to represent the Douro demarcated region’s natural and cultural heritage designated World Heritage by Unesco.
- Hall Wines of Napa Valley where visitors are invited to explore the Gold Leed certified hospitality centre and winery, the renovated historic Bergfeld Winery, and expansive art collection.
- Chile's Casablanca valley restaurant Macerado at Viñamar aiming at creating an intense and enjoyable harmony between cuisine and sparkling wine, a careful task that embodies the Viñamar spirit.
The GWC describes itself as a network of some of the world’s leading wine-producing areas created to share and promote international best practices in wine tourism, one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry.
