Wine judges' stronger credentials give competitions greater credibility • by By Glenn Bardgett Photo by Tony Carosella
Posted On: 09/01/2007 E-mail This To A Friend!

Back in January, we reviewed how wine competitions operate. But what about the people who decide which wines are singled out for honors?

I have been judging wine (and beer)competitions since the late 1970s. Wine quality is light years ahead of what it was then, and the accountability of judging has kept pace with that quality. In those fledgling years, the clear, non-cloudy, non-stinky wine was the exception. While there are still too many off flavors and poorly made wines,they are a minor part of today's competitive wine world.

Likewise, the brigade of qualified judges is steadily growing. In the early years, the judges were often anyone who could recognize a flawed wine and was willing to give up a Saturday to sniff and sip 100 or more wines. While many judges were wine industry professionals, some were simply interested consumers. Today, we see a cadre of experienced veterans who travel nationally to competitions, some attending a dozen or more events annually. This group includes winemakers, educators from numerous agricultural schools specializing in wine and grape production, wine writers and sommeliers.

Two new competitions spotlight this change in judge quality. At the Mid-American Wine Competition in Des Moines in July, where I was on the judging panel, nearly half of the judges were Master Sommeliers. When the Des Moines Area Community College decided to organize the competition, it connected with San Diego's Bob Foster, a fixture in the judging world for more than 25 years and one of the most respected judges in this field. Foster assembled a stellar cast of wine industry notables to sip and spit their way through nearly 600 wines. (Typically, a judging panel will have 100 to 125 wines per day to contemplate.)

A few weeks later, in early August, the first National Norton Wine Competition was held at Busch's Grove in Ladue. Early in 2007, Chris Ruess and Cory Kleinschmidt of Missouri Wine Media decided to make Missouri's official state grape the focus of their premier National Norton Wine Festival on Sept. 8; the all-Norton judging was conceived as part of this project. Ruess' and Kleinschmidt's quest was to secure Doug Frost, Master Sommelier and Master of Wine (and the subject of our March column), as the lynchpin to obtain a team of qualified judges. Once someone of the stature of Frost or Foster is on board, the task of obtaining experienced judges is easier.

After a competition theme is chosen and the judges committed, what happens on the day of the shootout? Many competitions once used a numerical scoring system; the industry standard has always been the 20-point scale developed in 1959 at the University of California-Davis, one of the most esteemed enology and viticulture schools in the world. Points are awarded for various parts of the wine, such as appearance, aroma, taste, body and acidity. Theoretically a "perfect" wine would receive 20 points.

But the norm today is for each judging panel to agree on awards/medals without traditional scoring. Wines are poured (about a 2-ounce serving) in an adjoining room -- judges never see a bottle. The numbered glasses are placed in front of each judge,usually up to a dozen at a time for each flight's perusal. (Any uestionable entry that may be "corked" or "off" due to a noticeable flaw is then repoured from a new bottle. This is to determine whether the individual bottle was the problem or if the wine itself has some type of spoilage.)

Table equipment includes spit buckets (you never swallow during judging), neutral bread or crackers and, if the judges are evaluating red wines, unseasoned roast beef and celery to keep the palate as fresh as possible. A well-lit room and white tablecloths are also very important to accurately gauge visual elements.

Discussion begins with the lead judge asking the others for their votes for gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal or no medal. The jury talks about each wine until an agreement is achieved. Even professional judges often do not see things the same, but the banter is generally good-natured and we're all friends again when it's over. Once there is agreement on awards, glasses are cleared and the next flight is served. Only wines receiving gold medals are considered for additional recognition, such as best dry red, or for top honors, such as best of show.

Typically, fewer than 10 percent of the entries will receive gold medals, which is why I have always put a great deal of credibility in the results of wine competitions: Not only is it very difficult to rise to the top, particularly with the growth of wine quality, but the expertise of those doing the judging helps ensure that the very best wines are singled out for awards.

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