shots pours another round at ADFEST 2026
The now familiar blind tasting brings together jurors and delegates, with Accenture Song’s Papop Chaowanapreech emerging as having this year’s most accurate palate (despite not drinking a drop!).
)
Returning to ADFEST for another year, shots once again swapped short-form storytelling for something a little more sommeliered, hosting its now traditional blind wine tasting for jurors, jury heads and festival delegates.
Among those in attendance were this year’s Jury Presidents: Yasuharu Sasaki, Ajay Vikram, Jim Ingram, Julie Jihyun Kang, Michael Ahmadzadeh, Tania Singh Khosla and Theresa Ong; attending alongside their juries and reflecting the breadth of voices shaping this year’s conversations, offering a light-hearted counterpoint to the intensity of judging.
Designed to test instincts of a different kind, the session challenged participants to identify grape, country and vintage across a trio of wines, with points awarded for each correct guess and pride very much on the line. As ever, the balance between quiet concentration and confident bluffing suggested that even the sharpest creative minds are not immune to a wildcard guess.
Above: Papop Chaowanapreecha takes top honours at the shots blind wine tasting at ADFEST 2026 [left], and pictured alongside his fellow leaderboard-toppers, Sojung Chun and George Sugitomo [right].
Taking the title this year was Accenture Song’s Papop Chaowanapreecha, who emerged victorious after a closely fought tie-break against INNORED’s Sojung Chun and Group G’s George Sugitomo.
With all three finishing with full marks at the top of the leaderboard, the final result came down to a decisive last guess - the number of entries for this year's festival - crowning Chaowanapreecha as 2026’s most accurate taster.
Above: A selection of scenes from the shots blind wine tasting at ADFEST 2026.
The tasting helped kick off a week of celebration at ADFEST 2026, which saw more than 800 delegates and jurors from across the region come together in Pattaya for a packed programme of talks, screenings and awards.
The festival culminated in the Lotus Awards, with this year’s winners available here.
As the industry reflects on the work celebrated at ADFEST, attention now turns to the shots Awards Asia Pacific, which are currently open for entries.
Celebrating the most inspirational creative work from across the region, the awards shine a light on the craft, the thinkers and the makers behind the work, with the first entry deadline set for 8 May 2026.
Enter here for an earlybird discount.
