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Wednesday, July 7, 2004
July 7, 2004
Note to Journalists: Journalists covering the event may take a tour and sit in with a panel of judges to go through the sampling process. A one-day notice is recommended to make arrangements for covering the competition. Contact Jill Blume at (765) 494-1749 or Sally Linton at (765) 496-3842.
International wine competition to take place in Indianapolis
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Indiana State Fair will host the 13th annual Indy International Wine Competition, the third largest international wine competition in the United States, on July 29-31 at the Indiana State Fair Exposition Hall in Indianapolis.
More than 3,300 wines from Indiana and 15 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Chile and Argentina, will compete for top honors. Judging, which is open to the public at no charge, runs from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. July 29-30 and from 8:30 a.m. to noon July 31. Recommended times for viewing are from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30-3 p.m.
"We have a large diversity of competitors, varying from large commercial wineries to smaller regional vintners," said Sally Linton, marketing director of the Indiana Wine Grape Council located at Purdue University.
The 75 judges are experienced wine experts from around the United States, Canada and Europe. The judging panel includes people from wine production, research, education, marketing, media and other related wine disciplines, and also includes knowledgeable consumers.
The goal of the annual "Indy International," founded in 1992, is to identify, reward and promote excellence in winemaking at the commercial and amateur levels.
Ellen Harkness, competition coordinator and Purdue wine technologist, said as many as 3,500 wines may be entered in the competition. The majority of wine entries include the classic red and white table varieties, however, the Indy International is the largest competition in the country for amateur winemakers and fruit winemakers, Harkness said.
"This year in the amateur division, wines will be judged by the full house of judges on Thursday afternoon in an effort to diversify the judging experience and to increase the competitive edge for the amateur entries," she said.
Every wine is deliberated, evaluated and commented on by a panel of five judges who return comments to the winemakers. Each of the wines is coded and placed in its designated category upon arrival at the Purdue Department of Food Science, which houses entries until the competition.
At the competition, the bottles are placed in rows on tables, which are behind curtains that the judges cannot cross. A "pit cru" of 75 volunteers open bottles, pour wine, and serve samples to the judges. At no time do the judges see any of the wines in bottles. "There is constant movement of the wines being poured, carted to the judges, sipped and removed," Harkness said.
Each judge will taste, analyze and score approximately 120 wines each day. After the "blind" tasting, each judge on the five-member panel is polled and awards are determined by majority opinion. And precautions are taken to make sure nothing interferes with the judges' ability to taste the wines. All glasses will be sanitized, washed and polished with a linen cloth to make sure there are no water spots after every taste," Harkness said.
Linton said, "The wines are judged independent of each other based on the five S's: sight, swirl, smell, sip and spit."
Placings consist of bronze, silver and gold. Some wines may not place. If all five judges on the panel vote for a gold medal, the wine receives the Concordance Gold designation and a chance to compete for Best of Show. "Sometimes there can be quite heated discussions among the judges if they don't agree with another's recommended placing," Harkness said.
Results from the Indy International will be posted immediately following the competition on the Indiana Wine Grape Council Web site at http://www.indianawines.org (click on "Awards" link).
The major award winners will be announced at the A Taste of Indiana Agriculture Wine Reception, which will take place from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Exposition Hall. Admission is $20 at the door and $3 for parking. Each attendee will receive an etched wine glass for sampling different wines, and a variety of commodity groups will serve food.
Sponsors of the Indiana State Fair's Indy International Wine Competition include American Airlines, Fruit Winemaking Quarterly, Graber Olives, Indiana State Beekeeper Association, Indianapolis Wine Enthusiasts, Indiana Winegrowers Guild, Marsh Supermarkets and the Purdue Department of Food Science.
Writer:
Julie Douglas, (765) 494-8402, [email protected]
Sources:
Sally Linton, (765) 496-3842, [email protected]
Ellen Harkness, (765) 494-6704, [email protected]
Jill Blume, (765) 494-1749, [email protected]