A Quasi Judge at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition

The Sheraton Fairplex hosted a group of Wine Scholars and Writers at the 74^th annual Los Angeles International Wine Competition one fine Wednesday in May. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association I was invited to attend this event which included a full day of judging with lunch and dinner. The winners of the competition will be served at the L.A. County fair this summer. The competition is also the foundation for an extensive wine education program available to the fairgoers.

75 talented judges congregated to blind taste approximately 100 wines each. The judges with an average of 25-30 years experience in their fields were called upon to test their vast knowledge of wine. The quickness with which they tasted, smelled, and scored the wines was mind boggling. 

The blind-tasting method is used to judge these domestic and international vintages. Glasses are tagged with numbers in specific categories. No bottles were anywhere to be found, except behind the curtain where staff worked vigorously to prepare wine flights. The only things the judges know are what the varietal is and what the retail price point is. For example, some categories my panel tasted were: Merlot over $30.00 retail, Merlot under $29.99 retail, Cabernet/Merlot Blend (Australia), Ruby Cabernet, Marsala and Muscat . 

There were 3,000 wine entries for judging, ranging from innovative new wines to sweet dessert wines. Prizes were awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and Best in Class.

I was fortunate to sit with 2 winery owners, a sommelier and a wine educator.  I’ve been seriously enjoying wine for about 25 years. I thought I knew a few things, but boy was I wrong. When I sat down with my panel to taste our way through 86 wines, I was immediately humbled. My scores didn’t count, I was observing the event. I found that sometimes I agreed with my compatriots and sometimes I didn’t. Never was I told I was wrong.  I asked the sommelier judge at my table for words of advice and he said, “Think long/think wrong. Go with your first impression.”

I quickly learned that my standard way of tasting wine wasn’t going to cut it. I swirled, sniffed and sipped. When I had just tasted about four wines, they were through the whole flight of around fourteen wines. These seasoned professionals sniffed all the wines and could pick up different nuances from their noses: too much tannin, not enough barrel aging, a hint of VA. (Yes, I had to look that up too- volatile acidity. This is where the acidity of the wine is deliberately elevated in order to enhance the fruitiness of wines that are meant to be consumed young.) The judges sniffed the entire flight, then swirled the wines in their mouths to get a sense of the flavors. After a few seconds they would spit it out and go on to the next wine.  I always look to see if the taste delivers on what the nose smells. I like to see how the finish is: does it leave a nice taste in my mouth or a tart one, a bitter one, a sweet one?

We also were served rare roast beef, grapes and cheese to help keep our palates fresh.Thank heavens for my new favorite olive, the Graber olive. These unique olives cleansed our palates and refreshed our taste buds to try another wine. 

After about forty wines we broke for lunch which was hosted by the hotel and featured produce from their garden next door at the L.A. Fairgrounds. This garden, which we were able to visit for dinner that evening, produced enough vegetables for the hotel’s kitchen to prepare two fantastic meals for us and I’m sure for other guests too. The buffet was served outside in the garden and featured lamb, Atlantic Char, faro salad, baby greens salad and a cheese plate filled with unique flavors and colors. Dessert was chocolate cupcakes, made with bitter chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Atlantic Char

Deluxe Cheese Plate

Bittersweet Chocolate cupcakes

Faro Salad

Buffet Tables

We returned to our panels after lunch to taste dessert wines: Angelica, Marsala, Muscat, Vin Doux Naturel and Sweet Sherry. I can’t even pretend to know how to judge these wines, so I sat back and observed. My knowledgeable judges even knew what Angelica was (yes, I had to look it up too. A sweet fortified Californian wine made out of the Mission grapes which date back to the California Mission era and produced by Franciscan Missionaries.) and if it measured up.

Fun Facts:

·         Last year 10,000 wine glasses were used at the competition.

·         Glasses are washed five times after each use. (If you want to do the numbers that equals 165,600 washings) .

·         Glasses are never touched by hand; specially designed lint-free towels are used

·         These towels are made of flour sack and are washed multiple times a day in very hot water; soap is never used

·         More than 500 towels will be used during the competition

·         Judges smell, sip, swirl and spit a minimum of 200 times daily.

Fellow writer Tom Plant

The judges at work

Judging

More Judging

Los Angeles International Wine Competition

It’s all about relationships in the wine business.

A flight of dessert wines

The relationship with weather and grapes. The relationship with the grape growers and the wine makers. Some people like to grow the plants, nurture the grapes, and encourage their strongest output of fruit. Some people prefer to take that fruit and make a magical elixir with them. Some people like doing both. But a winemaker’s best friend is his horticulturalist.

The relationship with the soil and the plants.  Planting your varietal with the proper relationship to the topography.

The relationship with buyers and sellers. The buyer wants value. The seller needs to make money to survive. The relationship with food and wine. Need I say more?

And then there’s the relationship with judges and wines at the L.A International Wine Competition on May 15, 2013 at the Sheraton Fairplex in Pomona California. Here knowledge met challenge.

The Sheraton Fairplex hosted a group of Wine Scholars and Writers at the 74^th annual Los Angeles International Wine Competition one fine Wednesday in May. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association I was invited to attend this event which included a full day of judging with lunch and dinner. The winners of the competition will be served at the L.A. County fair this summer. The competition is also the foundation for an extensive wine education program available to the fairgoers.

75 talented judges congregated to blind taste approximately 100 wines each. The judges with an average of 25-30 years experience in their fields were called upon to test their vast knowledge of wine. The quickness with which they tasted, smelled, and scored the wines was mind boggling. 

We split into different tables for a day and tasted and scored wines. Smelling, swirling, tasting and spitting.  Four judges were at my table: one bigger than life winery owner, one wine educator, one master sommelier and a wine marketer, whose main focus is on direct to consumer marketing. These people know wine. They know what makes a good wine. They can determine when there were too many tannins, VA or not enough barrel time.

At my table we tasted 86 wines; the majority of them were Merlots. Smelling, swirling, tasting and spitting.  The winery owner didn’t care for Merlots, he said, “Good Merlot is an oxymoron.” (He likes Cabernets.) The sommelier felt, “Merlot is the great massager. It says to Cabernets, it’s okay, everything’s going to be alright.”

The blind-tasting method is used to judge these domestic and international vintages. Glasses are tagged with numbers in specific categories. No bottles were anywhere to be found, except behind the curtain where staff worked vigorously to prepare wine flights. The only things the judges know are what the varietal is and what the retail price point is. For example, some categories my panel tasted were: Merlot over $30.00 retail, Merlot under $29.99 retail, Cabernet/Merlot Blend (Australia), Ruby Cabernet, Marsala and Muscat . 

Tags of wines blind tasted

There were 3,000 wine entries for judging, ranging from innovative new wines to sweet dessert wines. Prizes were awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and Best in Class.

The wine owner talked about his relationship with his customers. “It’s all about trust,” he said. “I barbecue about 400 pounds of meat every weekend and customers come and try my wines with different foods. They put their trust in me to make good wines.”

The sommelier got a huge smile on his face when he talked about his relationship with his restaurant guests. His greatest joy is helping people find the right pairing with food and wine. His greatest honor is when his guests tell him to order their meal and pair their wines for them. He likes them to sit back and enjoy each course pairing.

The wine marketer said, “It’s all about the relationship between wineries and wine drinkers. If they trust you and your wines, then you will be successful.”

Robin tries her hand at judging (her scores didn't count)

This experience was very eye-opening. Myself and my fellow writers are still in awe at how much we learned by attending this event. We were unanimous in our respect for the entire event. The judges were admirable, the wait staff that took care of the judges, brought the wines were silently efficient and the event organizers were perfection. The personnel were always available to handle any situation and answer questions. As anyone who has put on an event of this magnitude knows, there are a lot of people working tirelessly behind the scenes. I applaud everyone’s efforts.

Robin with her group of esteemed judges

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com