The business of creating wine is a long and painstaking one, so when someone recognises the efforts of the estate and the winemaker, it’s a good feeling. Wine shows are just the place for such adulations.
Why have shows?
Wineries display their products at wine shows for a number of reasons. First, it’s an opportunity to showcase the latest offerings from their winery. These wines are a testament to the quality of the grapes and the skill of the winemaker.
Attending and participating in shows helps owners and winemakers keep up-to-date in touch with what’s happening in the industry. It’s a form of market research, and also allows for the estate owner and winemaker to evaluate the competition up close.
It is also an opportunity to make media contacts. The bigger wine shows are almost always covered by the national media, so it’s a great way a winery’s wine can gain exposure to a wider audience, especially for little-known labels who fork out a lot to participate in these shows.
How a wine show works
Every participating winery enters a few bottles of their best wine in designated categories, usually broken down into wine types. A panel of expert wine tasters, sometimes other winemakers, journalists and critics, taste each wine and award it points based on its colour, nose and palate. The wines are then awarded gold, silver and bronze for first, second and third place respectively. A trophy is awarded to one outstanding wine.
The backlash
Not all wineries are keen to display their products at wine shows, and not all wine lovers are convinced by the number of awards a wine wins. In fact, more and more wine lovers speak openly about the irregularity of the judging at wine shows, especially the bigger ones with more prestige attached to podium prizes. Many smaller wineries stay away from wine shows, saying their customers know what their wines taste like and that’s all they need to know.
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