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As they say, it’s a tough job ~ but somebody’s gotta do it. Do what, you ask? Judging wine!
Though I’ve served as a judge in many different wine competitions (and food contests, for that matter), the San Francisco International Wine Competition remains a personal favorite. Considered one of the most prestigious wine judgings in the country, it runs for three days each year, on Father’s Day weekend, with upwards of 4,000 wines to taste and 40 to 50 professional judges to do the honors.
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After tasting *this* much red wine, *everyone's* tongue is purple!
I’m fortunate enough to have been judging the SF International for 20+ years, and by now it’s almost like a family reunion. Especially with so many of the judges coming in from other states (New York, Oregon, Southern California ~ lol!), and other countries, including Australia and New Zealand ~ the camaraderie becomes a huge part of the event. And although the job of tasting all that wine (often 200 in a day, with quality ranging from superb to abysmal!) is truly taxing, it’s a great deal of fun, too.
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These rolling carts carry our wine, one "flight" of 12 or so glasses at a time.
In a few hours, I’ll be piloting my trusty red ‘vertible across the Golden Gate Bridge to the lovely Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco. We’ll get our “marching orders” over breakfast, then retire to the “inner sanctum” judging chambers where we work in teams, or “panels” of four to rate our assigned wines. After the day’s tasting, we’ll meet on the 25th floor for our Judges’ Dinner, complete with champagne and sushi for starters, and wines from 2009′s Winery of the Year. Then another full day of judging on Saturday, and the “Best In Show” Sweepstakes tasting on Sunday.
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View from the 'vertible ~ I hope it'll be warm enough to have the top down today!
All weekend long, I’ll be snapping pics of the judges, the wine, and our “Tasting Panel” and “Sweepstakes” setups. I’ll keep posting for you here on my blog, and I’ll explain whatever details may seem unclear now, such as how we award medals (bronze, silver, gold, double gold), and how the final day’s Sweepstakes round works. Meanwhile, I’ll be earning my purple tongue.
And at the end of the 3-day competition, I’ll whip up another slideshow video for you, and share it in my next blog post. Hope you like the one (top of page) that I put together from last year’s judging!
See you very soon ~
Cheers,
Rosina
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Rosina, it sounds so exciting. I wish I was going with you. I’ll be holding my breath to discover the winners. Then I’ll be taking my ‘vertible to the liquor store to try out your faves.
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LOL, Debbie ~ I hope we’ll be able to go wine tasting together some time soon! Wouldn’t that be cool?
Cheers,
Rosina
What a great looking time! I was waiting for you to say who the winners were. Is it still a secret. I noticed that there were volunteers. How does one become a volunteer? That looks outstanding! Great video too!
Hi Rosina,
I can see you in your ‘vertible with your hair blowing out behind you showing up all cool at the wine tasting!
I never thought about how much work tasting all that wine would be. I am totally impressed that you have done this for more than 20 years. Pretty awesome!
Hey Rosina,
Thanks for sharing this with us all. Sounds like an amazing time!
Look forward to hearing more about it.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
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Hi Ed ~ So glad you enjoyed this post! There will be lots more, about this year’s event, in the next week or so.
Cheers,
Rosina
You’re going to have to invite me sometime to be your guest. (If I may be so bold). I’ve always been interested in wine-tasting… but I’ve never had the privilege of attending an event such as that!
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Hi Paul ~ If you plan to visit the Northern California wine country anytime soon, I’ll be glad to give you an insider’s tour!
Cheers,
Rosina
Hi Rosina
I love wine… you must have fun… LOL! I like sweet wine the best… dry is too blunt or something like that. I will be watching your posts!
Warm Regards
Debby Beachy
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Hi Debby,
Thanks so much for stopping by, and telling me what you like. I had a chance to taste some delicious sweet wines at the competition, even some really nice fruit wines.
I know what you mean about dry wines (especially reds) tasting “blunt,” or “harsh.” That sensation comes from the tannins in the wine, and it’s something of an acquired taste (much like strong coffee).
Have you ever tried Pinot Noir? It’s a lovely, light-bodied red wine that goes with lots of different foods, and it’s very low in tannin. You micht be pleasantly surprised!
Cheers,
Rosina
Hi Rosina,
I wish I could have been there. It sounds like so much fun!
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Hi Debbie,
I wish you could have been here too ~ it was a blast! Come to think of it, you sort of *were* there ~ I was on a 4-person panel with a friend named Debra, and we hung out a lot during the weekend…
Cheers,
Rosina
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