Judge Not

Wine awards are curious animals.  The bottom line is that you, as a wine consumer, are trusting someone you never meet and whose palette is obviously different from yours, to inform you on the worth of a particular wine.

Personally,  I am suspect of a winery with a wall full of ribbons and metals.  I wonder just whom the winemaker is making wine for; the judges or me.  As I am not a wine judge and just a lowly wine enthusiast, what am I to believe if, heaven help me, I don’t like the Double Platinum Super Duper wine I am tasting at the winery.

Do I spit it out in shame?  How could I not agree with that metal staring me in the face?  All too often the novice is intimidated into believing that maybe their palette is not quit up to snuff.  After all, a judge said it was great; I must be less than great not to lavish accolades on the wine in question. 

The inside story is that winemakers can “play” the judges to boost their chances at an award.  Image, if you will, a wine judge with a hundred wines before them, having to make some sort of studied choice as to the best.  Obviously, one wine pops out to the judge to grab the golden ring.  If you, as winemaker, can formulate your wine to do the “popping”, then you walk home with the glory. 

The downside to this is that the rest of us aren’t looking for that wine that will “pop” with just one taste.  We have the rest of the bottle to finish.  And there in lies the problem.  Back in California, this phenomenon became known has “fruit booms.” 

Back at the tasting counter you are looking for a wine that will be good to the last drop and this is accomplished by a wine that is well balanced.  And this will be the topic of my next blog; a well balanced wine.