"Selecting the Best Wine"... Lotte Department Store Hosts 'The Blind Seoul Judgment'

Dual Structure: Customer Participation and Expert-Centered Contest
Over 200 Wines Submitted, Exclusive Sale of the Winning Wine

Lotte Department Store announced on May 22 that it will be holding its wine contest, "The Blind (The V:lind) Seoul Judgment 2025."

The Blind is a wine blind tasting project first introduced by Lotte Department Store, inspired by the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Wines are selected solely based on taste, which has garnered significant attention and enthusiasm from both the public and industry professionals. The two winning wines from the final round were released in exclusive packages and achieved sales of over 10,000 bottles within just three months of launch.

This year, approximately 200 wines have been submitted to The Blind Seoul Judgment 2025. The contest is divided into two parts: the customer-participation "Mega Tasting" and the expert-judged "Blind Contest," further enhancing the event's appeal, popularity, and quality. The event begins with the large-scale "Mega Tasting" sessions for customers at major stores nationwide, followed by the "Blind Contest" judged by a panel of experts.

The customer-participation program, Mega Tasting, will take place from May 23 to May 29 at eight stores nationwide (Main Branch, Jamsil, Incheon, Pyeongchon, Dongtan, Daejeon, Bundang, and Busan Main Branch). During the event, customers can blind taste a total of eight wines (four reds and four whites) and cast their votes. The participating wines have been carefully selected from recommendations by major domestic importers, based on criteria such as quality, origin, and price (under 100,000 won). The final winning wine will be determined by aggregating customer evaluations throughout the event. The winning wine will be unveiled at the upcoming "Lotte Wine Week" in June.

The "Blind Contest" will be held on June 5 at "Mood Seoul" in Banpo-dong. In the contest, ten red wines and ten white wines that have not yet been imported into Korea will be blind tasted, and first, second, and third place will be awarded in each category. The judging panel includes top industry experts such as Master Sommelier Kim Kyungmoon, the first in Korea and one of only about 270 worldwide to hold this title, and Kim Jinbeom, head sommelier at the restaurant Mosu. The wines selected on this day will be offered as exclusive packages at Lotte Department Store during the upcoming Chuseok season.

Choi Hyungmo, head of the Food Division at Lotte Department Store, stated, "'The Blind Seoul Judgment 2025' is the first blind tasting project in the department store industry, and it has been planned with further upgrades following last year's event," adding, "We will continue to provide new experiences and choices to many customers through highly reliable wine curation."