I literally stick gold stickers on bottles in my shop, the wines sell quicker. The key is I do have pride in my selection so we also always get good feedback. But I really don't think the name does anything for 90%+ of the consumers...the fact that someone put their thumb up for a bottle by giving it a gold star is enough for most people.
Great topic. I send only to Decanter, even tho I know it is against ''natural wine world'' principles. But, being a sportsman I still love to compete, and to prove that even with our principles you can still make fine wines.
And for sure wines from Serbia needs a tons of all kinds of approvals and spreading the word worldwide. Success at Decanter is IMO strongest tool to achieve that.
But putting stickers on bottles hurts my eyes, so we don't stick them at all...
I think that's a great ethic Djordje, but I can tell you Decanter is certainly not against natural wine per se. Yes there are some older, more dyed-in-the-wool judges who are peturbed by anything that isn't crystal clear or that shows a tinge of VA or reduction. But there are increasing numbers of younger and/or more open minded judges who drink and enjoy plenty of natural wine in their private lives. I'm not a lone voice!
I was asked to help with a competition in France when I was based there. They had decided the number of medals to be awarded before the first bottle was opened. Apparently if wines are submitted the producers expect a certain level of reward! That finished me with competitions but, from running tastings and talking to friends and neighbours who just want to buy a bottle for the weekend etc, they see the medal stickers as a mark of quality.
I appreciate what you say about your reasons for judging and understand that motivation, I remain sceptical.
I have to say that all the competitions I've ever judged for have been 100% professional in this regard, with no guarantee that any wine or winemaker will get an award or not. Even Concours, for which it's probably obvious that I don't have much love, is fair and equitable in this regard. Every wine is assessed in the same way.
Therefore I think your scepticism is misplaced, but what I would say is that medals and scores are a very poor second to personal recommendation or being in an ecosystem where you can talk to winemakers and source wines direct from the source.
Misplaced maybe but it was a competition run by an official French wine authority and the wines were made to fit the medals rather than the correct way. I judged for a French guide too which was much more professional and impartial but that first experience made me very sceptical.
I find the awards from the more well known programs useful when I am buying wine from a region I am less familiar with such as Serbia or Armenia. But one additional comment is that the awards are useful for state run monopolies such as in Canada and in the Nordic countries. I've read several of the posted RFPs, which wineries fill out when they wish to sell to the monopolies. The applications are very specific requesting a maximum bottle weight, to the ALC and RS levels and often they only want applications from wines which have received 90 points or higher.
That's interesting stuff Chris. I guess it holds true that the more geographically distant a country is from the area of production, the more certification and awards have value - in the absence of more direct contact.
I personally think they are useful for wineries who truly do see winemaking and selling as a 'competition' and maybe for some of the regions that are trying to break out into new markets, but a big issue is that for the most part judges are working for free. So for marginalized people trying to break into the wine world, they can't necessarily afford to give their time away for free. As well, in your article about mouse, you mention the time it takes for impact. You're also right about it having impact more for wines that don't have a person there to guide the consumer. I know when I have served wines to my clients I have never mentioned what awards they win. Also for the most part, people don't consume wines in such sterile environments. So I think wine competitions still have their place but they won't survive for decades longer. There is a culture and demographic shift in wine, and it either keep up or stay stale.
I agree about the issue of judges working for free. It is very clear that the quality of judges in most OIV-affiliated competitions and CMB is affected by this. You find a lot more semi-professionals, retirees, others with time on their hands.
I literally stick gold stickers on bottles in my shop, the wines sell quicker. The key is I do have pride in my selection so we also always get good feedback. But I really don't think the name does anything for 90%+ of the consumers...the fact that someone put their thumb up for a bottle by giving it a gold star is enough for most people.
Great topic. I send only to Decanter, even tho I know it is against ''natural wine world'' principles. But, being a sportsman I still love to compete, and to prove that even with our principles you can still make fine wines.
And for sure wines from Serbia needs a tons of all kinds of approvals and spreading the word worldwide. Success at Decanter is IMO strongest tool to achieve that.
But putting stickers on bottles hurts my eyes, so we don't stick them at all...
I think that's a great ethic Djordje, but I can tell you Decanter is certainly not against natural wine per se. Yes there are some older, more dyed-in-the-wool judges who are peturbed by anything that isn't crystal clear or that shows a tinge of VA or reduction. But there are increasing numbers of younger and/or more open minded judges who drink and enjoy plenty of natural wine in their private lives. I'm not a lone voice!
I was not clear, wanted to say that our natural wine scene is against this kind of competitions, like ''Parker gave me 50'' and similar :)
I know for sure who are some of the judges and respect their (yours) knowledge and openness to our wines.
Ah got it, thanks for clarifying!
I was asked to help with a competition in France when I was based there. They had decided the number of medals to be awarded before the first bottle was opened. Apparently if wines are submitted the producers expect a certain level of reward! That finished me with competitions but, from running tastings and talking to friends and neighbours who just want to buy a bottle for the weekend etc, they see the medal stickers as a mark of quality.
I appreciate what you say about your reasons for judging and understand that motivation, I remain sceptical.
I have to say that all the competitions I've ever judged for have been 100% professional in this regard, with no guarantee that any wine or winemaker will get an award or not. Even Concours, for which it's probably obvious that I don't have much love, is fair and equitable in this regard. Every wine is assessed in the same way.
Therefore I think your scepticism is misplaced, but what I would say is that medals and scores are a very poor second to personal recommendation or being in an ecosystem where you can talk to winemakers and source wines direct from the source.
Misplaced maybe but it was a competition run by an official French wine authority and the wines were made to fit the medals rather than the correct way. I judged for a French guide too which was much more professional and impartial but that first experience made me very sceptical.
I find the awards from the more well known programs useful when I am buying wine from a region I am less familiar with such as Serbia or Armenia. But one additional comment is that the awards are useful for state run monopolies such as in Canada and in the Nordic countries. I've read several of the posted RFPs, which wineries fill out when they wish to sell to the monopolies. The applications are very specific requesting a maximum bottle weight, to the ALC and RS levels and often they only want applications from wines which have received 90 points or higher.
That's interesting stuff Chris. I guess it holds true that the more geographically distant a country is from the area of production, the more certification and awards have value - in the absence of more direct contact.
I personally think they are useful for wineries who truly do see winemaking and selling as a 'competition' and maybe for some of the regions that are trying to break out into new markets, but a big issue is that for the most part judges are working for free. So for marginalized people trying to break into the wine world, they can't necessarily afford to give their time away for free. As well, in your article about mouse, you mention the time it takes for impact. You're also right about it having impact more for wines that don't have a person there to guide the consumer. I know when I have served wines to my clients I have never mentioned what awards they win. Also for the most part, people don't consume wines in such sterile environments. So I think wine competitions still have their place but they won't survive for decades longer. There is a culture and demographic shift in wine, and it either keep up or stay stale.
I agree about the issue of judges working for free. It is very clear that the quality of judges in most OIV-affiliated competitions and CMB is affected by this. You find a lot more semi-professionals, retirees, others with time on their hands.
Also I would hate to see this in natural wine. Gross.