We Wine Directies have done a bit of wine judging in our time. And writing, for wine mags and others. We love it. The downside - we reckon it's high volume, high pressure and usually conducted in a sterile environment. The emphasis is often on concentration and notation than relaxing and regaling. Because of this, big, oaky, tannic wines tend to dominate subtler (and sometimes better) wines. You can end up ignoring the stunner while eyeing off the blocky 'roid ragers. Much better to judge similar wines at home, with a good feed, company, and enough time to watch the wine open up and say g'day. Check out the following video of Philip White talking about the Mountadam and Dandy Rieslings:
Chuck in some comfy chairs, good grub and swap the winery shed for a lounge room and there’s a natural shift from genuine intellectual appreciation to ahhhh. Thats how wine is enjoyed by almost all of us all the time. It's also where the Adelaide Review, with its Hot 100, is taking wine judging. It makes sense, and you can do it too... Just pick a wine or 3 you’ve had from us, jump onto the Your Musings section of that wine in our Wine Shop, and share your experience.
Cheers!