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It’s Friday morning, Day 1 of the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
With my ‘vertible’s top down and clear blue skies overhead, I zip across the Golden Gate Bridge and head toward the Hotel Nikko downtown.
Heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco for a three-day wine judging.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Competition, www.sfwinecomp.com/ a true milestone and a testament to the outstanding team that runs it. The world-renowned wine authority Anthony Dias (“Andy”) Blue www.bluelifestyle.com/, a James Beard Award winner, serves as Executive Director, and the savvy, delightful Carol Seibert, vice-president and CFO, tunes the Competition’s intricate workings to the specs of a fine Swiss watch.
I love judging this Wine Competition, and Panel D is a great panel to taste with!
Once I reach the Nikko, http://www.hotelnikkosf.com/ I make my way upstairs, join the growing throng of wine judges, and link up with my three “Panel D” tasting partners. Then, with a hearty buffet breakfast under our belts (Mmm ~ croissaints!), we suit up in our lab-style white smocks, retire to our judging chambers, and settle in for a full day of tasting.
Our “fearless leader,” Wilfred Wong, takes charge of organizing our tasting schedule and tallying our votes. Cellarmaster of the thriving Beverages and More (“BevMo”) chain of full-service bottle shops, Wilfred is a well-known and highly respected figure in the world of wine. He’s also a true gentleman, and an all-around great friend.
Wilfred Wong takes great pictures of wine, food, people and places (even his lenscap on a wine glass!) with his trusty digital SLR.
I’ve been judging with Wilfred since the very beginning of my 20+-year tenure at this competition, and as panel chairman, he strikes just the right balance of professional leadership and good-natured, relaxed camaraderie.
Wilfred is also a highly accomplished photographer who fills both his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/WilfredWong/ and ”Wilfred’s Blog” at the http://www.bevmo.com/ website with tantalizing pics from his frequent trips abroad.
In any given week, Wilfred might be visiting vineyards in Spain, Australia, Chile, South Africa, or any other wine-producing area, scouting out exciting “finds” for BevMo.
On my left, Ron Siragusa, a ten-year veteran of the Competition, returns to “Panel D” for the second year running. Like Wilfred, Ron is articulate and knowledgeable, and a pleasure to judge with.
In his "day job," Ron Siragusa works with Italian wines ~ but his knowledge is global.
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In his “day job,” Ron directs the wine program for Kuleto’s Restaurant ~ http://www.kuletos.com/ (click on “Wine List” to see his handiwork) ~ on Union Square. One of San Francisco’s best-loved restaurants of any kind, Kuleto’s features an acclaimed Northern Italian menu and a carefully chosen wine list from Italy and California.
If you visit Kuleto’s, ask for Ron ~ he’ll give you great advice on finding just the right wine(s), by the glass or by the bottle, to enhance your meal.
Debra Del Fiorentino, co-owner of a Sonoma County winery and restaurant, and a Sommelier, joins Panel D for the first time this year.
Debra Del Fiorentino, our fourth panel member, co-owns the historic Russian River Vineyards ~ http://www.russianrivervineyards.com/ ~ a beautiful “destination winery” in the western part of Sonoma County.
Not only does Russian River Vineyards produce exceptional wines (I’m a *huge* fan, especially of their Syrahs and Pinot Noirs), they’re the only winery in the Russian River region with an on-site restaurant. Aptly named “Corks,” it’s housed in an 1890s farmhouse and features seasonal, local ingredients.
Although Debra joins Panel D (and this Competition) for the first time this year, she and I have tasted and judged together many times before, most recently at the annual “Pinot Shootout” and “Pinot Summit” competition last winter. (More about this cool event in another post.)
To get us started on the day’s judging, Wilfred studies our list of assigned wines to set up a sensible tasting plan. He suggests that we “warm up” with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and other whites this morning and start tomorrow with sparkling Brut Rosés. Then, on both days, we’ll segue into reds.
Judging wine really *is* hard work!
Since there are over a dozen panels like ours (about 45 judges total), we’ll be tasting a very varied assortment of wines ~ 265 in all. Fortunately, we have no more than 36 of any given type of wine (delivered to us in letter-coded groups, or “flights,” of usually 12 glasses), so it’s not hard to stay fresh and focused.
Still, judging wine *is* hard work. As we “swirl, sniff, sip and spit” the contents of each glass, we’re mentally doing rigorous, split-second analysis and evaluation. We write notes about the aroma, the flavor, even the texture of every wine. Each of us also rates the wine’s merit with an individual score ~ either No Medal, Bronze, Silver, or Gold.
But that’s not all: we also have to be prepared to explain and defend our opinions during the panel discussion that follows. This is when we decide on the wine’s group score ~ its final rating ~ and this is where all those medals on all those winery walls come from.
Volunteer extraordinaire Novella Smith collects each wine's medal score from panel leader Wilfred Wong, then transfers them to the computer team.
Behind the scenes, a not-so-small army of volunteers opens bottles, codes glasses, pours wine and delivers each flight to its judging panel in a specially designed rolling cart. Our own volunteer team, led by LED lighting entrepreneur Novella Smith, works smoothly and efficiently, helping us keep our own flow going.
After each flight of wine, Novella collects our scores from Wilfred, to be transcribed into the computer database. Meanwhile, assistants Thomas & Kelly transfer our next flight of wines from the cart, arranging the glasses in a wide arc in front of each judge.
In case you’re wondering, we *don’t* know the identity of any of the wines. The only information we receive is the type of wine in that flight (e.g. Merlot, Cabernet/Shiraz Blend, Vintage Port) and the vintage date (if there is one). We often find a *huge* variation within a flight, both in quality and “style” (e.g. a light, fruity Chardonnay vs. a big, rich, buttery one), but that’s to be expected. To some degree, our scores are subjective, but we also have to measure each wine against an objective “varietal standard” ~ which means we need to have broad knowledge of what traits are acceptable for Chardonnays in general.
Our dedicated (in *both* senses of the word!) volunteers Kelly and Thomas arrange a "flight" of wine in front of each judge.
Friday evening brings our “Judges Dinner,” and on Sunday, we wrap things up with the “Sweepstakes” tasting, in which *all* the judges taste the top wines from *all* the tasting panels to decide the “Best In Class” and “Best In Show” awards.
As always,
Cheers from the San Francisco Bay Area,
Rosina
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Rosina,
Thank you for the well-written account of your judging experience at SFIWC. Never having been a judge myself, I’m enjoying your descriptions and insights. Looking forward to more!
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Kerry, how *great* to hear from you ~ and thanks so much for your kind words! I’ll have lots more, soon… Cheers, Rosina
Hi Rosina,
Sounds like a fabulous time! Your descriptions made me feel like I was right there at the event with you! Thanks for sharing your experiences so we can live vicariously through you!
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Hi Debbie! So glad you feel that way ~ that’s exactly what I’m striving for. BTW, I’m working on the “Judges Dinner” and “Best of the Best ~ Wine Judging Sweepstakes” blog posts as we (virtually) speak. Cheers,
Rosina
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