Sake Contributor Award Open for Entries
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Sake
The Sake Samurai Association, in partnership with the International Wine Challenge, is proud to announce The Sake Contributor Award. This is an opportunity for restaurateurs, journalists and distributors to win an all expenses paid trip to Japan. You will visit 5 prefectures and meet 5 Kuramotos for one week between late February and early March 2011. Members of the Sake Samurai Association will host the winner throughout the entire trip.
Sake Samurai Association
Entrants should compose a draft of no more than 300 words on how their contribution to sake awareness helps to raise its profile in the UK and/or Europe. Please also attach a recent CV for the judge’s attention. The successful candidate should write a report of their trip upon their return of 1,000 words which will be posted on the International Wine Challenge website.
Closing date for receipt of entries is July 30th 2010.
The winner will be notified by 12th August 2010 and will be a guest of the Sake Samurai Association at the International Wine Challenge Awards Dinner, Hilton Hotel, London on September 7th 2010.
Entries should be sent to the following address:
Sake Contributor Award
International Wine Challenge
William Reed Business Media Ltd
Broadfield Park
Crawley
West Sussex
RH11 9RT
For any queries please email ray.oconnor@william-reed.co.uk
Terms and Conditions:
1 . The winner agrees to travel on the dates specified by the Sake Samurai Association, which will be announced in due course.
2 . The winner is requested to compose a 1,000 word report on the events of their trip following upon their return for the International Wines Challenge website.
Tags: Competition, Sake
Trophies and Great Value results announced
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Consumer tastings, IWC, Trade Tasting
At today’s Taste of Gold Event at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London we had the great pleasure of announcing this year’s trophy winners. No less than 111 trophies were announced with some producers picking up more than one trophy per wine. IWC Co-Chairman Charles Metcalfe told me “The competition at this final Trophy stage recognises true excellence and helps consumers identify at a glance some of the world’s best wines.”
With a 15% increase on entries this year the competition for each wine was even tougher, with any trophy winners exhibiting true expression of region and style.
Here is the list of winners announced today:
Trophy Winners & Great Value Wine Winners.
Tags: Gold, Great Value, Trophy
Young Wine Writer Awards open for entries
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Media, Wine Writing
The Circle of Wine Writers are once again offering this annual award to help promote the promise of new, aspiring wine writers. Now in its 10th year, the award is open to anyone aged 30 or under by the end of 2010 who is based in the UK. Applicants should not yet have had a wine book published nor yet be an established wine columnist or regular contributor to a magazine. They are looking for wine-writing potential and commitment to popular consumer wine-writing rather than extensive knowledge or experience.
Last years winner: Nicola Cornelius
Besides the fame and glory, the winning entrant will win £1000, sponsored by Pavilion Books, an imprint of Anova Books and publishers of Oz Clarke and Michael Broadbent, to enable the winner to travel to a wine region of his or her choice to gain first-hand experience and to develop a book or article based on that experience.
As if that wasn’t enough, Wine Australia sponsor a 14-day, expenses-paid trip to the wine regions of Australia. The trip will include a tour of the key wine regions, opportunities to meet the growers and one-on one tastings with leading producers. The winner will also get the chance to write articles about the trip for the Wine Australia website.
To enter this competition, contact Fiona Holman at Pavilion Books:
email: fholman@anovabooks.com
tel +44 (0)20 7605 1403
Good Luck!
Tags: Wine Writing
Cast and Crew
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
Two important photos to wrap up the Grenache Symposium in Le Crestet, Rhone Valley, France. A truly well selected bunch of people all round, especially the crew who enabled the cast work so efficiently.
The crew of the Grenache Sympoium
Team Grenache
Progress with time
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
It may have taken a day of hard debating, but any sceptics finally came around to the merits and potential of Grenache yesterday at the Symposium in Le Crestet, South France. Where Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards had reservations of the development of discussions on Friday, he soon warmed to the belief that producers and writers can raise the profile of the grape to a greater state. You can watch the video interview on the Wine Challenge You Tube Channel.
Aside from this glass half full/half empty syndrome, you could not move for the enthusiasm and drive at yesterday’s symposium. Viticulturists kicked off the morning sessions with a long and heated debate on the ideal soil types and site that favour the variety. We were told how most Grenache vines do not have their own roots, but rather are grafted to root stocks which do the work in it’s place.
The panel of winemakers, largely Australian, lightened the mood of the gathering by taking a simplistic approach to understanding the workings of the vine. Peter Schultz, of Turkey Flat Vineyards, pointed out the fact that Grenache is the most widely planted old vine variety in the world, lots of it still producing quality fruit. It’s ability to do so, whilst maintaining fresh acidity in challenging conditions, is testament to the virtues of the variety.
What the second panel of winemakers lacked in presentation skills they made up for in expertise. With the Library Collection in mind, I asked the panel for their thoughts on the age ability of Grenache. The response could not have been more enthusiastic. Vincent Avril of Clos Des Papes in Chateauneuf De Pape told us of how it played such an important role in his blending every year and credited it to the central role of Grenache played. The panel continued with the metaphor of how the grape is like the engine around the motor car styles of most Rhone style blends.
Then it was over to the panel wine writers commenting on the grape in established markets who coined the phrase “Grenache – You know it – you just don’t know it”. They went with the idea of focusing a campaign around three P’s – Pleasure, Price and Partnership – all of which they believed were outstanding merits for the variety. There was a strong call for the wines to be served at a cooler temperature , 15-16 degrees, though some believed even cooler was necessary. International Wine Challenge Co-Chairman, Tim Atkin MW, suggested Grenache should be seen as the mother or father of the Mediterranean family of grapes, continuing later to highlight that old plantings of Grenache gris and blanc in the Rousillon are making extraordinary wines, both just as exciting as the red version.
I will be covering the Emerging Markets panel discussion in Harpers Wine and Spirit in the next issue, but it is suffice to say there were some real revelations from this team – notably the advice to wine makers not to continue to say that there wines go well with Asian foods as there is such diversity in cuisine in any single Asian country.
Discussions were concluded with two panels for the On and Off trade who went over all was had been said already, not a problem as each panel needed to present their own interpretations of the grapes potential. It was suggested that Robert Parker’s love of Grenache could be seen as a major opportunity for the grape. To encourage a better understanding of the grape for consumers the panel suggested a neck tag for these wines as well as listing the varieties and their percentage on the back label.
Nicole Rolet and Walter McKinley wrap up events
We were then treated to a fantastic tasting of Grenache based wines from around the world, which provided a great opportunity to compare global styles. Finally a wonderful meal gave the delegates time to relax and network whilst discussing the outcome of the day’s events.
It was a world class show with world class speakers. Congratulations to the entire team of the Grenache Symposium for pulling off an event which was deemed by everyone to be a seriously high calibre.
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bathmate...