The secrets of Wine Shows
by Maryanne Pidcock
Wine shows play an important role within the wine industry, particularly for the winemaker. Winning medals and trophies can have a huge impact on the sales success of a particular wine.
So what does it all mean? How do you measure such a subjective commodity as wine? For those who have never negotiated their way through the minefield of a wine show, I'll attempt to explain why they exist, how they operate and what the medals mean.
There are many wine shows throughout Australia and the world, each with its own focus and character. Most major cities have a wine show (National) and there are many regional shows that have great significance. Often wine shows grow from Show Societies, as they have the logistics to co-ordinate such an event, while many of the city shows are sponsored by a major hotel chain, which gives an event prestige and exposure.
A good wine show is in synchro-nization with its local industry and, like a good wine, is well balanced, which is reflected in its judges. Often there is a visiting chief judge, usually high profile and lends kudos to the event, who is supported by a judging panel that should have a balance between Technical Judges (e.g. Winemakers) and Consumer Judges (e.g. Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, Senior Retail Figures). Associate judges are ‘Judges in Training’ and if they demonstrate promise, can be elevated to judge status.
Usually they have completed the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) advanced wine assessment course and have a vested interest in the wine industry. By training the future generation of the industry and extending the skills base, the entire industry develops and benefits.
Each wine is entered into a class, which is then judged by three judges, who rate it out of 20 (Colour 3, Bouquet 7 & Flavour 10) giving it a score out of 60.
There is no maximum or minimum number of medals awarded and they must reflect technical soundness. For winemakers, medals and trophies are recognition of a labour of love, while they give confidence to consumers and can guide their purchases.
For the winemaker, a wine show presents a great opportunity to benchmark your wines against similar styles from many regions, evaluate where your product sits in the market and clearly identify your point of difference. It is an ideal opportunity to determine how you will improve your wine next vintage by assessing the style and quality of your opposition.
This is a strategy used by many wine brands, both large and small. Public tastings are a very cost effective method to taste a broad range of the market and to ‘tweak’ your product for next year.
Another important aspect of a wine show is to learn from the experts how you can improve your product, as well as be reassured that you are heading in the right direction. Each wine show has a presentation dinner and a public tasting and usually the judges will be at both. While general feedback is given about each class, judges are very accessible and happy to answer your questions about an individual wine.
Two wine shows that are very important for the Queensland Wine Industry are the Australian Small Winemakers Show held in Stanthorpe each October. The Small Winemakers Show this year attracted over 1700 entries from all over Australia and New Zealand and is only open to small wineries.
The Courier Mail and Sofitel Brisbane Queensland Wine Awards is held in Brisbane each November. The show began in 1983 to recognize the outstanding contributions of Queensland Winemakers to the wine industry and therefore only Queensland wines are eligible.
As explained in last month's article, it's also a great opportunity for trade and consumers to meet the people behind the wines and to hear their stories.
Here's to a successful show!