Winery seals
The Cities and Wines Seals (Selección, Prestigio, Excelencia and Ícono: Selection, Prestige, Excellence and Icon) recognize wineries that are consistently well rated in the reviews published on Cities and Wines of Mexico, and that also take care of their page and reply to their visitors. They cannot be bought or require a plan, and they look the same on every profile.
They are calculated with the reviews that count toward the stars: visits of the last 3 years, with no courtesy visits or people who work at another winery. They must also have been published for 14 days and come from accounts at least 30 days old. We do not verify visits: each author declares their own.
How each seal is earned.
Each seal includes what the previous one asks. In all of them, one in four reviews must have arrived without the winery's link. The average of the winery and that of its 14-day-old reviews must reach the minimum on the day of the review.
- Selección (Selection) Seal (level 1 of 4): 50 reviews and an average of 4.0 or more. Claimed and complete profile.*
- Prestigio (Prestige) Seal (level 2 of 4): 150 reviews, 4.2 or more and one in four with an approved photo. Replies to its reviews.*
- Excelencia (Excellence) Seal (level 3 of 4): 300 reviews, 4.3 or more, 35% with a photo and at least 36 reviews with 4.2 or more in each half-year of the last year.*
- Ícono (Icon) Seal (level 4 of 4): 600 reviews, 4.4 or more, 50% with a photo, at least 60 reviews with 4.3 or more in each half-year, no sanctions in 3 years and review by two members of the team.*
* These figures are provisional: they will be set with the first months of data.
Complete profile means the winery has a representative, confirmed its data in the last year and its page has its own photo, a phone number, a location, hours and a confirmed way to visit. Replies to its reviews means it replied in public, within 30 days or less, to at least 7 out of 10 reviews of the last year. None of that depends on a plan.
When they are reviewed
We calculate the seals every month and publish them on the second business day. A seal goes up in any month, except the Ícono (Icon) Seal, which is awarded every quarter, and it goes down only in the reviews of March, June, September and December. The stars change with every review: the seal says in which review it was confirmed.
Founders' Plaque
The first 10 wineries to reach the Ícono Seal receive the Founders' Plaque (Placa Fundadora), numbered from 1 to 10 in the order of the review in which they reached it. If two reach it in the same review, the order is decided by the date of the review that completed the requirement and then by their identifier in the guide. The number is permanent. The physical plaque is a gift: it costs the winery nothing.