Golf fans may recognize the Azalea cocktail as the official beverage of the four day Masters Tournament held at Augusta National Golf Club—the fruity mix of vodka, lemonade and grenadine are undeniably tempting in Georgia’s heat—but wine connoisseurs might be more interested in what the reigning champion selects to pair with their menu for the Masters Tournament Champions Dinner.

2023 Masters Champion, Jon Rahm, celebrates with his trophy.

Every year, the Augusta National Golf Club hosts a dinner in honor of the previous year’s champion on the Tuesday of tournament week. The menu is completely customized by the honoree and traditionally pays homage to the former champion’s native from plate to palate.

This year, 2023 Masters Champion Jon Rahm showcased the bounty of his home country of Spain by pairing Imperial Gran Reserva 2012 and Contino Blanco 2020 from Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España winery (C.V.N.E) with six tapas and pintxos (small plates) inclusive of Iberico ham, tortilla de patatas and chicken croquettes, before a Basque crab salad, then a choice of Basque ribeye or turbot and finally crema de nata for dessert.

Before the dinner, with the help of celebrity chef José Andrés, Rahm expressed that Imperial Gran Reserva is “a tale that deeply connects me to my grandfather.” The 2023 Masters Champion is the grandchild of an Athletic Club de Bilbao delegate who had a preference for Imperial Gran Reserva, an exquisite red wine only made during exceptional vintages in Rioja, Spain. The wine became a symbol of family achievements when Rahm received two bottles of the 1994 vintage, the year of his birth, from his father on his wedding day, and another bottle when his first child was born.

Contino Blanco is a white wine from Rioja that comprises Viura and Garnacha Blanca grapes. This wine embraces the style of more traditional Rioja white wines with its capacity to age and its freshness.

The subterranean wine cellar underneath Augusta National’s clubhouse holds some of the world’s most exclusive wines. In 2020, the Irish professional golfer Rory McIlroy, was quoted by Irish Golfer as saying that gaining access to Augusta’s wine collection was one of the week’s best experiences, apart from golf itself.

“We’ve tasted a variety of wines there. I do recall one time when we went with Jimmy Dunne and he selected a bottle from Dunn Vineyards,” he recounted, also mentioning a more than 30-page inventory book.

Over the years, it’s not surprising that previous champions have enjoyed their victories with premium wines, picking from esteemed labels from regions like Australia and South Africa.

The Masters Tournament Champions Dinner in November 2020, which happened later due to the pandemic, was an occasion for 2019 Champion Tiger Woods, who celebrated his fifth green jacket triumph, to relish two wines from Napa Valley. These were a 2015 Shafer Chardonnay, Red Shoulder Ranch and a 2015 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select.

Former Champion of 2018, Patrick Reed, mirrored a similar preference for Napa Valley wines during his 2019 dinner. He selected a 2016 Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena and a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon 41st anniversary version from Caymus Vineyards, matching these drinks with delicious mac and cheese, corn creme brulee, and a hearty bone-in cowboy ribeye.

Showing off a bit of his Spanish background, Sergio Garcia served a 2016 Sketch Albariño from Rias Baixas and a 2014 Pinea Tempranillo from Ribera Del Duero in 2018.

Jordan Spieth went all American with Texan BBQ at his 2016 Masters Tournament Champions Dinner, pairing Napa Valley favorites; 2011 Cakebread Reserve Chardonnay and 2010 Caymus Vineyards, Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon.

When Adam Scott was honored in 2014, the Australian leaned into his heritage with a main course of Australian Wagyu complemented by South Australia’s premier producer, Penfolds—a 2009 Yattarna Chardonnay and 2005 Grange Shiraz.

Charl Schwartzel won his green jacket in 2011, so in 2012 he nodded to his South African roots with 2010 Cape of Good Hope, Van Lill & Visser Chenin Blanc as well as 2007 Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Sauvignon to wash down a packed seafood tower inclusive of jumbo lump crab meat, shrimp and King Crab claws and sliced Biltong, a specialty of his native.

Only time will tell what wine region will be showcased in 2025, pending the 2024 Masters Champion, but Scott’s advice for Garcia back in 2016 is perhaps an evergreen mantra: “Serve good wine,” Scott told Garcia. “I learned that’s most important.”