Morovino Goes for Gold

Mrs. Vino got some very special news this week. Her first vintage as winemaker (2008 Morovino Pinot Grigio) received a gold medal in the prestigious Orange County Fair Wine Competition. When I saw the envelope in the mailbox, I immediately ripped it open. Several tourists with cameras caught the enthusiastic happy dance in the post office parking lot, accompanied by incredibly loud whoop-whooping. Let’s hope it the video never ends up on You-Tube. I believe the Post Office is getting a restraining order against Mrs. Vino. Let’s just say I was pretty happy.

Wine Awards are an interesting thing. I’m sure that no matter what the quality of a wine, you could probably find an award competition that would give it a medal. Winemakers believe that awards mean a great deal to consumers. That’s why we enter the competitions. But wine drinkers should be careful. Just because you see a bit of shiny gold in association with a bottle does not necessarily mean it is the bottle for you.

Most of the recognized, well-reputed, prestigious competitions award medals based on a familiar 100 point system. A wine will receive a bronze medal if it is in the 85-90ish point range. A Silver medal is in the 90-95ish point range, a gold is in the 95-100ish point range and double gold, platinum, titanium, best of show, etc., are the best of the best.

I think, in large part, the value of the medal equates to the number of wines entered in the competition. In the Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition, more than 3,000 California wines were entered. Last year’s California State Fair Wine Competition also had more than 3,000 entries. The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (another prestigious competition) received more than 4,700 entries in 2009. Wines awarded medals at these uber-contests are probably of a different quality than say the “Made-Up-CityName Wine Competition” which has 100 entries.

It’s a classic case of Caveat Emptor--let the buyer beware. Before you decide to buy a wine based on whether it won a medal or not, whip out your iPhone and check out that particular competition online. Better yet do a bit of research right now to find out which competitions are the most recognized within the industry. Armed with that knowledge, you will know that a Double Titanium Medal from the “Made-Up-CityName Wine Competition” may not necessarily mean a quality wine in the bottle.

Granted, medals must mean something! Even after two days, Mrs. Vino is still spontaneously bursting into laughter in the tasting room. Or sometimes, she is bursting into tears. I understand that the award means that a panel of 10ish people thought the wine was really good. I know that I think the wine is really good. I know that all the guests in our tasting room think the wine is really good. I know the opinion of 10ish people shouldn‘t matter that much. But some days, you just want to dance around the tasting room with a medal hanging around your neck.

Cheers! Mrs. Vino

Here are some competitions to get you started:
Orange County Fair Wine Competition (www.ocws.org)
Mid State Fair (www.midstatefair.com)
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (www.winejudging.com)
California State Fair Wine Competition (www.thebestcaliforniawine.com)
Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition (www.fairplex.com/wine2009)
National Women's Wine Competition--1800 entries (www.nwwc.com)