Have wine competitions lost some of their glamour? With competitions across the country now proliferating at breakneck speed, one begins to wonder when enough is enough. There certainly was a time, in the not too distant past, when the benefits in winning major awards translated into increased recognition that led to increased sales—the ultimate end reason for entering. It was also true then that most competitions were sponsored and run by nonprofit groups raising money for a cause. Today, many of them are run as for-profit businesses, and small, local competitions are expanding the areas they represent to increase participation numbers.
Remember when the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition was only open to wineries within a 10-mile circle around Cloverdale? Now it’s the biggest in the nation. The North of the Gate competition, sponsored by the Sonoma-Marin Fair, has also tried to expand—but with much less success. The most consistent award goes to the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, which has changed very little except to tighten its rules to say all entered wines must be made from Sonoma County grapes. By the time you read this, it will be known if the Harvest Fair has had its financial lifeblood completely drained by the exorbitant fees demanded by the “big fair.” (The Sonoma County Fair “rents” the grounds and labor to the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.) Maybe some other more deserving nonprofit group could pick up the fumble (if it does happen) and run with it. It really is a great show even if a lot of our big name wineries still don’t participate.
Looking at results from about a dozen shows so far this year (that are open to all U.S. wineries), it’s interesting to note several things. One of the most striking is the proliferation of gold and double gold medals awarded to East Coast and Midwestern wines. This is particularly true with white wines such as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc and other white blends. These wineries have learned that dry wines sell to a wider range of consumers and, hence, are producing dry, delightfully fruity wines that have a broader appeal. By winning at large competitions against California wineries, they’re proving to us in Wine Country that other areas can also make very good wine. Interesting enough, however, out-of-state wineries currently sell nearly all of their production at home and around neighboring states. This will gradually change as their production increases and we in the wine drinking state awaken our California palate.
Here are a few examples from a recent event: At the U.S. National Competition, Best of Show and Best White Wine went to a dry Riesling from Dr. Konstantin Frank of New York; Best of Show Rosé was Detour Winery of Maryland; and Best Sparkler was Sparkling Pointe of Long Island, N.Y. These kinds of awards are occurring all over the country.
Another wake-up call when looking at competition results across the country is the lack of Sonoma and Napa wines as winners. Here we go again: Did they not win or did they not enter? The International Women’s Wine Competition showed that the female judges seem to prefer slightly sweeter wines and also less expensive wine, with E&J Gallo wines getting six Best of Class awards.
So I return to the question: Are there too many competitions and have the results lost their glitter? I’ve also heard some wineries say the results are fixed, but I seriously doubt that based on the competitions I’ve coordinated and/or judged. The big boys (Gallo, Bronco and the like) enter most shows because they have nothing to lose. Each gold medal says, “Look here, Mom! We can make good wine too, and this proves it.”
We also see large companies that have a few dozen labels entering entire portfolios and garnering several awards. Most of these are the cutesy labels I talked about in my last column. A couple of examples of multiple entries from a single company include DFW company (Gnarly Head, Wolfgang Puck, Twisted, Irony, Fog Head, Black Stallion, Noble Wine, Brazin, Bota Box, Domino and Handcrafted Artisan Collection) and Coastal Wine Brands (Pacific Coast Highway, I (heart) California, Challis Lane, WineWrights, La Merika, First Press, Sonoma Hills, Honeymoon and Old Moon). Now, you know why it’s impossible to keep who’s who straight?
It usually costs somewhere between $55 to $85 per entry, plus shipping, plus four to six bottles of wine to enter a competition. So what are the returns? The chance to tell consumers you’re making gold medal wine—and that’s about it. Over the past couple of years, competitions have added double golds and platinum awards to help promote wines. Most shows don’t even recognize or give bronze medals any longer.
OK, so I ask, is there any real reasons for well-known wineries (in terms of a high-profile image) to even enter competitions? They really don’t need any added publicity. Who are the prime beneficiaries? New, small wineries that are trying everything possible to get some recognition and the big guys with multiple labels who need to get some recognition and shelf space. I should probably add that those seeking an ego stroke might consider entering also so they can brag at the yacht or country club.
It’s been my experience with the Harvest Fair over the years, that once a small winery gets a sweepstakes or other very high award, the fair has served its purpose and they no longer enter. Might I use Matanzas Creek (under McIver ownership at the time) and A. Rafanelli as a couple of examples? When you can sell all of your wine without medals, why waste the money and the time?
Back to the bottom line: Do you only enter wine competitions when you need help selling wine? With wine competitions sprouting up like mushrooms after a warm October rain, does the cost-benefit ratio make sense? Do you want to know who the most important judge really is? The consumer. Not some writer, salesman, winemaker or anyone else who judges wines at competitions.
Final question: What do you think would happen if you took five capable judges and had them judge, say, 40 Zinfandels today, and then tomorrow, the exact same wines but in a different order? Now ask yourself how important a gold medal is from a single show. That’s why you need to look at results from an entire season and look for consistent winners. Those are the good ones—but maybe still not as good as wines from some wineries that don’t enter any shows. Homework time now. Get to it!
