6 Nations wine competition

 Australia has earned “Nation of the Show” status nine times. This year it was New Zealand’s turn, the third time in 12 years this country has taken the top title.

Entry is by invitation only. Each country has a representative judge who also chooses the wines that he would like to enter. There are seventeen classes. Each country can enter up to 10 wines in each class with a maximum of 100 wines in total. 

Entry selection is strategic. I choose the New Zealand wines by focusing on classes where we have a high performance potential, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and avoiding classes where we have less chance of success, such as the non-aromatic white class which tends to be dominated by Australian Semillon and the Malbec class which is owned by Argentina. It is interesting to note that while I would have expected Chile to win the Merlot and Carménère class New Zealand won the class last year with just five entries.

I also study the past results before compiling my selection “wish list” in order to identify any possible judging bias. With judges spanning six countries it is hard to find any evidence of style preference. Vintage sparkling wines seem more likely to earn higher points than non-vintage wines but that could simply indicate that vintage sparklers are of slightly superior quality. The judges do seem to favour drier Riesling styles so I tend to avoid the sweeter examples. 

Judging takes place in Sydney. Wines are tasted blind by class with up to 60 wines in each. Each judge selects his top 15 wines (the number varies depending on class size) and ranks them in order of preference. Our scores are entered into a computer which calculates the winning wine and runner-up in each class and the country winner in each class. The judges, after discussion, then award double-gold and gold status to the top flight of wines in each class. 

In theory we should have 600 entries to judge in three days, a manageable load given the “top-tier” judging method. In practice the number of entries are always slightly less.

The 6 Nations Wine Competition is my favourite wine show for a number of reasons. The average wine quality must surely be higher than any other wine competition in the world, it is a great chance to taste top-flight wines that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to review and I enjoy the camaraderie that has developed within the judging team. If the process is a pleasure the result tends to be more reliable.

In addition to being awarded “Nation of Show”, New Zealand won the following trophies:

• Wine of Show (Dog Point 2012 Pinot Noir won jointly with Silverthorn “The Green Man” Blanc de Blancs from South Africa)

• Red Wine of Show – Dog Point 2012 Pinot Noir, Marlborough

• Trophy for top Aromatic wine – Waimea Estates 2013 Gewurztraminer

• Chardonnay Trophy – Villa Maria 2012 Single Vineyard Keltern Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay

• Pinot Noir Trophy – Dog Point 2012 Pinot Noir, Marlborough

• Dessert Wine Trophy – Giesen Wines 2013 The Brothers Late Harvest Riesling

New Zealand also won the following classes by amassing a higher number of points than all other countries:

• Sparkling wine

• Aromatic wines

• Sauvignon Blanc (top wine was Tokara, a South African producer)

• Pinot Noir

• Dessert wine