I enjoyed reading a long post about wine competitions by New York Cork Report. The staff of the New York Cork Report has decided that for the foreseeable future they will not judge wine competitions. Titled We Won’t Participate as Judges in Wine Competitions: Here’s Why the lengthy post describes many of the issues involved with judging wines. Among the reasons why include the number of wine competitions and medals awarded means that many consumers do not know what the medals mean. As stated in the post, “There are so many medal-awarding competitions that the events have lost any sense of meaning to the average consumer, and even wine-loving consumers can’t possibly know the significance of a single bronze or silver or gold medal awarded at the many, many events.” This post is lengthy and well worth reading by winery owners, winemakers and wine enthusiasts.

This article reminds me of what a winemaker said one day while I was attempting to get a sense of what all the different medals and wine competitions meant. The winemaker said, “It’s like entering a third grade science fair, everyone gets a ribbon just for participating.” Since hearing that I have always looked at the medals draped around a wine boggle necks or decorating wall space, with a jaundiced eye. I know of one winery that entered the same wine two different years into the same competition. The first year the wine won gold and the second year it did not even place.

When you visit the  New York Cork Report site to read the complete article, be sure to read the comments posted. There are many opinions about the value of wine competitions. How do you feel about wine competitions? Do you buy wines based on whether they have won medals?

Cheers! Kathy