Decanted

These - at times heated – conversations will include which wines should be entered, who the judges are, the relevance to the winery, and what wine(s) typically take out the Gold medals and top awards. 

They are likely to also include debate on the merits of entering at all, whether there are too many wine competitions or not enough, who benefits from entering, and what varieties or styles win medals and trophies. In New Zealand, for example, there are around six major wine competitions, with Chardonnay or Pinot Noir often securing the top prize - though this is sometimes not always the case. The more significant New Zealand competitions can attract between 1,200 to 1,800 entries. 

At an International level, well-regarded wine competitions generally attract a significantly larger number of entries. Any discussion on the merits of these competitions should include their popularity, generally held to be because of the opportunities provided to get a wine ‘out there’, and increase market visibility. 

Recently I had the pleasure of chairing the panel of judges for the New Zealand wine entries into the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. The competition itself attracted sixteen thousand entries, requiring two hundred and forty judges - including 85 Masters of Wine and 23 Master Sommeliers, as well as wine writers and key wine influencers from 22 countries around the world. Interestingly very few of the judges were winemakers. This Award Show is a massive competition by world standards and required a particularly skilled team in the back room, cataloguing, sorting, organising and delivering the wines to be judged. Judging took five days in total including regional trophies, and it was obvious from the level of professionalism that everyone involved in this event took their responsibilities very seriously.

All results are due in August, with a report in the Decanter magazine at the same time. I look forward to seeing them – and to any feedback New Zealand entrants would like to provide regarding the benefits (or otherwise) from their entry.