On June 12 – 14, 2023 there will be a gathering of International and Certified Master Sommeliers, Winemakers, Winery Owners, Wine Educators, and Wine Journalists who will collectively judge over 2000 wines from commercial wineries all over the world.  Some of these wineries are large - such as Gallo Wines, and some in comparison are very small. This competition is the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and a few of our wines will compete.   

There are competitions that judge the wine, the label, and the price to promote sales of large quantities of wine. One of the rules is the winery must have at least 200 gallons of the winning wine available to sell. Since I am a small batch winemaker, I looked for a competition that judges on the quality of the wine alone.

There are costs associated with competitions. Not just entry fees but also shipping fees and quantity of wine required for judging come into play. The Finger Lakes International Wine Competition is held in Rochester, New York with drop locations in the Finger Lakes that are drivable within 4 hours.  For each wine entered, 4 bottles of wine are required and a $55 entry fee.  4 bottles feels like a lot of wine but entry fees for some competitions are over $100 per entry. 

Upon receipt of the wine, the competition staff labels each bottle with a computer generated-code and stores the wine in a climate controlled area.

During the competition, there is one room with about 50 judges organized in small panels that represent a mix of professions and geographic regions.  

In a separate back room, the wines are poured into crystal stemware and labeled with the computer-generated code on the bottle.  All wines are then staged into flights of the same Class (grape variety).  They are then delivered to the judging room. This is called ‘blind’ judging. 

Judges are given a scoring sheet with the computer-generated code and only non-specific information about the wine, such as the varietal, vintage, residual sugar, and % alcohol.  Each entry is then judged on its presence, balance, and varietal character - not by how it compares to other entries in the flight. 

It takes the judges three full days to taste and judge over 2000 wines.  Then it takes a few days to compile the information and announce the winners.  It is during this period that I refresh my browser and my email several times a day.  We won’t get results until Mid June and hopefully, it will be worth the wait!

Peace, Love, and VW Buses,

Sharon