I can tell you firsthand what it’s like to be involved in a wine competition, and it ain’t pretty. First, you pick a wine or two or three that you’ve put your heart and soul into and really believe in. Then you submit it along with thousands of other winemakers who feel the same way about their wines. Then you wait … and wait … and wait … for a bunch of strangers to decide whether they think your wines are as good as you think they are.
It’s nerve-wracking.
I’m happy to tell you that, here at
The Traveling Vineyard, we offer many wines—some of them exclusively—that have won medals at prestigious competitions, and we deliver these wines to your doorstep at unbeatable prices. But we don’t believe that an award is the only measure of a wine’s greatness. After all, we’ve earned our reputation by offering wines that offer a rare combination of superior quality and exceptional affordability.
So how do we select our wines? Our Associate Wine Directors, Peter van Hoof (Europe), Guy Davis (California), and Chris Brunck (Southern Hemisphere) carefully research the producers and winemakers in the regions they cover, then establish a personal relationship with those who meet their high standards. By going directly to the source instead of through a middleman, they can evaluate the winery and taste the wines personally, then send me their recommendations.
Sometimes we select the wine as is. Other times, we play a part in either modifying the bottle blend to meet the tastes of our loyal customers or creating an entirely new blend altogether. Some of our wines are sold under their original names, others bear our own exclusive labels. Either way, the partnerships we’ve developed with top boutique winemakers around the world make us unique in the marketplace—and ensure that our wines are right for the most discerning customer: you.
Still, we live in a world obsessed by competition, from the Academy Awards to dog shows to TV reality programs. The wine industry may seem glamorous, but it’s a tough business and very competitive.
Our Private Winning BrandsWe know what wines are our favorites—and, more importantly, what wines are yours. That’s why we created our own proprietary seal of approval: our Signature Selection Series, a line of winning wines hailing from trusted producers that we regularly keep in stock. The producers of our Signature Selections offer their wines to us in limited quantities with no expensive advertising budget, so we can pass the savings on to you. These brands—which include several award winners—embody our philosophy of finding wines with depth and character at attractive prices. Put our Signature Selection Series to the test!
How the Best Was WonWe’ve earned our reputation by offering wines that offer a rare combination of superior quality and exceptional affordability.
American author William Gilmore Simms once said that the object of true criticism is “justly to discriminate, firmly to establish, wisely to prescribe, and honestly to award.” Whether or not that lofty ideal applies to such TV competitions as
American Idol and
Dancing with the Stars is debatable. In the wine world, however, awards do serve purposes similar to those Simms described: to reward excellence, encourage improvement—and also help the consumer make an informed choice. While there are innumerable wine competitions around the country and throughout the world, those you’ll find profiled on these pages are the ones to keep your eye out for.
The Best in the World: International Competitions
Concours des Grands Vins Paris. The most important competition in Europe is the Concours des Grands Vins Paris, which the sets the highest standards in the industry. Making the competition even stiffer is the fact that there are no multiple winners in this competition—only one wine claims the gold, silver, and bronze medals. If no wine meets the specific standards for an award, then no award is granted in that category that year.
The International Wine and Spirit Competition. As its name suggests, this prestigious annual event judges not just wines, but also spirits and liqueurs. The competition grew out of an event founded in 1969 by wine chemist Anton Massel, who mandated that all entries undergo chemical analysis as well as a tasting. In 1978, the name was changed, but an ongoing commitment to excellence remained. As in the Concours des Grands Vins Paris, only one award is given in each category.
World Wine Championships. It’s no coincidence that the World Wine Championships were founded in 1981—the same year as the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI). The BTI rates wines every weekday morning, and the World Wine Championships recognizes the wines with the highest BTI ratings over the course of each year. For more information about the BTI, see the sidebar below.
The Best in the U.S.: Domestic CompetitionsSan Francisco International Wine Competition. The brainchild of Bon Appétit magazine’s wine editor, Anthony Dias Blue, the San Francisco International Wine Competition has evolved into the largest and most prestigious wine competition in the country. Up to 40 judges evaluate more than 3,500 wines at the event, which is held annually in June.
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Founded in 1983 as the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) today is acclaimed as the world’s largest competition strictly for American wines, with 4,235 entries in 2008 alone. The SFCWC is also an important culinary event, with proceeds benefiting the Santa Rosa Junior College Wine Studies Program and Culinary Arts Program.
Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. North America’s fast-growing wine competition and the top judging event on the East Coast, the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition is also the world’s largest charitable event of its kind, with net proceeds benefiting Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc.—a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with cancer and AIDS. More than 2,000 wines from the U.S. and around the world are entered in the event.
New World International Wine Competition. Established in 1990 by the late Jerry D. Meade, the New World International Wine Competition was founded to help wineries publicize their wines and to help consumers make an informed purchase. The event is open to all wines produced in the New World (North, South, and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) and judges wines against peers within the same price category. As many as 2,400 wines have been entered in this event.
Meet the Press
More and more, the wine press doesn’t just report on the leading wine competitions—they even hold their own. Here’s how some leading journals have gone into making news about wine instead of simply covering it.
Decanter World Wine Awards. One of the first publications to enter the fray is the U.K.’s Decanter magazine, which began its own annual wine competition in 2004 in an effort to, in the magazine’s own words, “provide credible recommendations for today's wine consumer.” Wines are judged on the basis of pricing and quality, and, with awards given by region in order to promote diversity, the concept of terroir (matching the grape to its ideal soil and climate) is celebrated. Regional winners then compete for the international trophy for their category.
Wine Spectator Restaurants Awards Program. Even restaurants can win a wine award. The Wine Spectator magazine holds an annual Restaurant Awards Program, which presents awards based on a restaurant’s wine list. The program does not evaluate the restaurant as a whole, but rather those whose wine lists are interesting, well matched to their cuisine and appealing to a wide clientele. The appearance and presentation of the list are taken into account in the judging, and all wines on the list must include accurate (and correctly spelled) information regarding vintage, appellation and the name of the producer. Restaurants vie for one of these three awards:
· Award of Excellence
· Best of Award of Excellence
· Grand Award
Putting Wines to the (Taste) Test:The Beverage Testing InstituteFounded in 1981, the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) lays claim to being America’s only fully independent wine review and marketing service. The BTI is guided by a mission of providing consumers with fair and impartial reviews of wine, beer, and spirits. Beverages are scored on a 100-point scale, based on blind tastings conducted in the institute’s Chicago lab by highly experienced industry experts, writers, and buyers. The BTI also hosts the World Wine Championships. For more information about the BTI, visit
www.tastings.com.
Visit
www.TTVstore.com for wine selections
It’s true! Wine tasting with The Traveling Vineyard is now even more delicious.
