Terms of participation
Last updated: 21 October 2026 · Version v1.0
1. Organiser
DECODE – European Championship Wine Blind Tasting ("DECODE") is organised by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, Messeplatz, Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, 40474 Düsseldorf ("Organiser"), as part of ProWein 2027, in cooperation with the Sommelier-Union Deutschland e.V. The tasting questions and the scoring model are developed by an independent expert panel.
2. Eligibility
Participation is open to natural persons aged 18 or over. Both wine professionals and amateurs may take part; participants state their category when registering. Persons involved in selecting the wines or preparing the questions and the scoring model, and their household members, are excluded.
3. Registration and slots
Participation requires registration on decode.wine with truthful details and the booking of a 15-minute tasting slot. Participation is free of charge. Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Each person may take part only once per event; multiple registrations (e.g. with different email addresses) lead to exclusion. Admission to ProWein (ticket) is not included and must be arranged by the participant for tastings that take place at ProWein. A booked slot can be cancelled in the account until 2 hours before it starts.
4. Voluntary donation
We ask every participant for a voluntary donation of €10 to our charity partner. The donation is not a condition for taking part and has no influence on the result.
5. No-show
If a participant neither attends nor cancels a booked slot, the participant agrees to make a donation of €10 to the charity partner and will receive a corresponding donation invoice. This helps us to give the limited places to people who really come.
6. Procedure of the preliminary round
Each participant tastes three wines blind, without information about the wines, and answers the same set of questions for each wine on their smartphone (approx. 4 minutes per wine). Participants arrive on time; if they are late, only the remaining slot time applies. No feedback is given during the tasting. At the end, the participant sees their total score. Points per question are weighted according to difficulty in line with the scoring model of the expert panel.
7. Qualification for the final
The five best-placed professionals of the preliminary round at ProWein and the best-placed amateur of the preliminary rounds held outside ProWein qualify for the live final. In the event of a tie, the estimation question (tiebreaker) decides, then the earlier completion time. Qualified participants are informed by phone and email and must confirm their participation within the deadline stated in the notification. Without timely confirmation, or if the person cannot be reached, the place passes to the next-ranked participant. There is no entitlement to a place in the final.
8. Final
The final takes place on Monday, 8 March 2027, from 16:00 in Hall 1 of ProWein Düsseldorf, at the stand of the Sommelier-Union. By confirming, finalists commit to being present on time. The final is held in several rounds in front of an audience with a live leaderboard. Travel and accommodation costs are not reimbursed.
9. Prizes
1st place: trophy, the title "DECODER 2027" and a voucher worth €5,000. 2nd place: a trip. 3rd place: a glass set by Riedel. Prizes cannot be paid out in cash and are not transferable. Any taxes on prizes are the responsibility of the winners. The Organiser reserves the right to replace a prize with one of equal value for reasons beyond its control.
10. Responsible consumption
Alcohol is served. Spittoons are provided and their use is recommended. Staff may refuse participation to anyone who appears intoxicated.
11. Exclusion
The Organiser may exclude participants who provide false information, register more than once, use unauthorised aids or other people's help, manipulate the system or disrupt the event. Points already obtained are void in this case.
12. Photos and publication
Photos and video recordings will be taken during the final and may be used for reporting on DECODE and ProWein. The names, city/country and scores of the finalists and the winners may be published on decode.wine, by ProWein, by the Sommelier-Union and by media partners.
13. Changes and cancellation
The Organiser reserves the right to change or cancel DECODE for important reasons (e.g. force majeure, technical problems, cancellation of ProWein). Participants will be informed by email.
14. Liability
The Organiser is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and for injury to life, body or health. Otherwise liability is limited to foreseeable, typical damage arising from the breach of essential obligations.
15. Decisions
The results are determined according to the scoring model of the expert panel. Legal recourse with regard to the ranking is excluded.
16. Data protection
Personal data is processed in accordance with the privacy policy at decode.wine/privacy.
17. Final provisions
German law applies. Should individual provisions be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.