Over 100 Wines Tasted at the IWC

by Vincent De Kime on April 28, 2012

All bottles are Blind Tasted and Remain Vinanonymous

All bottles are Blind Tasted and Remain Vinanonymous

As I was expectorating fine wine inside it was raining buckets of Vin Santo outside during London’s wettest drought period on record.  Well protected from the elements I spent two days this year as a judge for the IWC, the International Wine Challenge, the largest wine competition in the world.  It was the best of the seven years I’ve participated as I met some wonderful people in the wine world and because we shifted venue to the Lord’s Cricket Ground in a large space filled with light near the practice field.    Since I worked the second week of the competition I missed the thrill of tasting the entries which had been rejected for medals the week before.  Mexican Cabernet Sauvignon, Canadian Shiraz, Bulgarian Viognier and Thai Riesling were just some of the wines that only their countrymen could love (no disrespect meant – they’re all getting there).

48,000 Bottles Ready for Evaluating by the IWC Judges

48,000 Bottles Ready for Evaluating by the IWC Judges

These are some of the grapes I sipped over the course of the competition:  Shiraz, Chenin Blanc, Nebiolo, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Touriga Nacional (and other blended Port grapes), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Viognier, Carmenere, Tempranillo, Marzemino, Teroldego and many others.   I really admire the winemakers who submitted the fruits of their labor for this competition – it takes confidence and guts and brings consumer attention to some of the best wines in the market.

Wine Stained Finger Licking Good

Wine Stained Finger Licking Good

IWC Judge

IWC Judge

I feel I’ve played a part in awarding medals to great wines – it was wonderful fun and a great experience.  So, while it’s still raining outside here in London pop the cork (or open that screw top) on an IWC medal-winning wine at home and dream about your next vacation in the sun.   vdk

 

 

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Berry Bros & Rudd – Non-Stop Quality

by Vincent De Kime on March 20, 2012

Old bottles in the cellar of Berry Bros & Rudd in London

Old bottles in the cellar of Berry Bros & Rudd in London

Do you ever happenstance  into a business that is just so well run and so wonderful that you wish you could invest in it? You know, like Apple.  For me, as someone who is mildly IT-challenged this would be one of the world’s oldest wine merchants located in London on St. James’, Berry Brothers and Rudd.  The company was started in 1698 even before Moby Dick was a minnow and run by the Bourne family, headed by a widow of the same name.  In 1788 the first Berry, a wine merchant from Exeter, married into the family which continues to operate the business (Simon Berry is currently the boss) today.  My association however, goes back only so far – I have been shopping at number 3 for about ten years and am an extremely satisfied cellar plan member for six or seven.  In that time I have attended about 20 fine wine tastings, dinners and educational events; I have partaken in their fine wine brokerage services, used their incredible web site for a myriad of functions and for wine geek fun – all of these things have two common elements: QUALITY & EXCELLENCE!  Every detail of service is tended to, their staff are passionate about wine and extremely knowledgeable and incidentally, the BB&R team are the best dressed in the entire wine industry with perhaps the exception of the owners of the five 1er Grand Crus Chateaux in Bordeaux.  BB&R’s detractors comment that they and their customers are wine snobs and elitists who think the names of Yellow Tail and Jacob’s Creek refer to an endangered species of watery wildlife.  My answer to them: quality, excellence and passion in what they do is worth every single penny!  Great job Berry Brothers and Rudd!

 

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Southern Rhone Tasting

March 15, 2012

Our wine tasting group last night decided to forgo the usual blind tastings since our theme was ‘Southern Rhone reds’.  Knowing that detail can take the fun out of a blind tasting if you see what I mean.  We put all of our ‘cards’ on the table and decided it would be a better experience [...]

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Harvest 2011

September 25, 2011

It’s been incredibly hard work but extremely satisfying and a wonderful learning experience for me and Jamie.  We are working at Domaine Rouge – Bleu in Provence under the vigneron, Jean-Marc Espinasse and his American wife, Kristie.  Jean-Marc is a natural wine producer using organic methods – the way wine was made for centuries.  It’s [...]

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Harvest 2011 in the S. of France – Domaine Rouge-Bleu

September 15, 2011

  It’s been great reading the theory of wine making and vineyard management for my MW course but there is no substitute like some real on-the-job training.  That’s why both Jamie Song and I are heading to the south of France near Avignon to work the harvest 2011 at Domaine Rouge-Bleu   (http://www.rouge-bleu.com/) from 19 September [...]

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Champagne with CEO of Acker Merrall & Condit – Wine Auctioneers (or…”this is not a Bubble”)

July 30, 2011

“Mayfair is in the heart of London and Brown’s Hotel is in the heart of Mayfair” is the blurb that Browns uses to woo its upmarket customers.  Just a block or so from London’s New Bond Street where the wealthy and fashion-victims shop, the area has an appeal to those whose taste lay on the [...]

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Those Who Control Distribution Control the Market

July 14, 2011

Control of distribution is critical to success around the world and in the world of wine, there are essentially three distribution models: direct trade systems, three-tiered systems and monopolies. In all of these systems the large producers invariably benefit from the structures that exist to distribute wines around the world and thus are at an [...]

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Old Vines v. New Vines

July 14, 2011

Explore the advantages and disadvantages of young and old vines.  What are the implications for both yield and quality? The starting point for any discussion on a subject is a common understanding of the definition of that subject.  In this case, there is no general consensus on what defines an old vine nor is it [...]

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Is Sherry Really Just for your Aunt Mable (at 3 in the afternoon)?

May 30, 2011

Sherry has such a bad rep these days and people (especially men) are hesitant to try it because it has an association as a tipple secretly drunk by their sweet, elderly aunt just before Uncle Bill comes home from work.  And maybe she does – good for her!  But what Aunt Mable is probably drinking [...]

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Riesling – the Finest White Grape in the World?

March 21, 2011

Riesling is arguably the finest white wine grape in the world.  It is a grape that, according to Jancis Robinson, “preserves its identity wherever it is grown” and with its high acidity, provides the drinker with a vibrancy that may not be attained in any other white grape of the vitus vinifera family, perhaps, with [...]

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