One of the entrants will win a free one hour consultation with Kevin Boyer, who until quite recently was the VP of Ruth’s Chris Steak House Global.  Until about a year ago, he was in charge of running their $130M beverage program for 130 restaurants in 8 countries.

Now he is founder and president of his own beverage consulting business (and his own winery, now there’s a well-rounded judge!) with clients including Tavistock Restaurants, McCormick and Schmicks, Patrick Henry Creative Promotions, as many more. 

Kevin has agreed to spend 1 hour (a $500 value) with the winner of the 2010 U.S. Pro Wine Buyers Competition Consulting Prize.  We will be picking one lucky winner during the competition.
Enter the US Professional Wine Buyers Competition to get the chance to win a free one hour consultation with Kevin!

Visit our website at www.prowinebuyerscomp.info today!

Our warehouse location is at Sonoma Storage Emporium is a secure and temperature controlled facility, located in Santa Rosa, Ca. The managers, Billy and Jodi, are really friendly and extremely helpful! They receive all of our wine shipments at their front office and deliver them to our floor.

We use a software program called Enofileonline created by OxData in Portland, Oregon and Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition to track and manage the entries.

I begin by looking at every single box to determine which wine company it came from. Once I have documented all of the shipments, I enter this information into enofileonline so I can keep track of what date we received the wine and how many boxes were in the shipment.

Next, I take out every bottle of wine and organize them by winery. I print out ‘check-in’ sheets from Enofile and make sure that the information for each wine is listed correctly. I can edit the information for any wine through Enofile online. This helps to ensure that the wines will be listed correctly in our consumer shopping lists. I also take a picture of each wine and upload it to the computer so that we have documentation of each wine.

Once a wine has been ‘checked-in’ I place a label on the wine that contains the winery name, the category (based on varietal, vintage, residual sugar content) a category number and a randomly assigned number. This randomly assigned number will be the only thing the judges will know about the wine.

The wines then have to be organized by category. Using the category number I organize the wines on tables and shelves. For example all of the 2007 Pinot Noirs will be placed together on a shelf so that when it comes time to flight the wines the volunteers will easily be able to find appropriate wines.

How can a winery help to ensure that their wines are correctly categorized and flighted?

There are several different things wineries can do to help improve the quality of the competition.

• Send your wines in early! I often receive about 60% of our entries the last week before the competition. If a competition has 1500 entries that is a lot of wine to receive with only one week to check them in and organize them into categories. If you send your wine early there is less likely to be a categorization error.
• Double check your entry information! Make sure you have listed the correct vintage, varietal and residual sugar for your entries. If you have questions, asap so we can help get your wines into the correct category.
• Include an entry form in the box! This helps us identify wines quickly and allows us to spend more time checking that your wine is in the correct category.
• Contact us prior to the competition with any questions/concerns! We know that medals sell wine and we want your wine to win! If you are concerned about the categorization please feel free to email or call us. We would love to hear from you!

If you would like more information on the US Professional Wine Buyers competition, please check out www.prowinebuyerscomp.info or contact us at info@prowinebuyerscomp.info.

Eileen is the founding winemaker and current president at Domaine Carneros.  Eileen originally trained at the Culinary Institute of America to work in the culinary field. Eileen eventually decided to pursue her love of wine and began to study Enology and Viticulture at UC Davis. She has also worked at Domaine Chandon and Gloria Ferrer.

Eileen was also named one of the 75 Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Chronical and is involved with the Carneros Quality Alliance, the California Classic Methods/Classic Varieties Society and Chairs the Board of Napa Valley Hospice.

We are really excited to have such a prominent woman from the California wine industry! We hope that her story will inspire other young women to become leaders in this industry that has historically be dominated by men.

When doing and internet search for women and wine here was one of the top 10 results: (from 2006 @ monkeydish.com)

Facts about women and wine

•A 2006 Merrill Research study reveals that women drink more red wine than white (39 vs. 35 percent) or blush (26 percent).
•Women are more likely than men to order wine (72 vs. 70 percent) in a casual dining restaurant, says the same study.
•Out of 78 Master Sommeliers in the United States, 13 are women, reports Kathleen Lewis, executive director of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
•The first National Women’s Wine Competition was held this year.
•Wine groups geared to women are burgeoning. A few of the more active: Divas Uncorked, Vino Vixens, Women for WineSense, Wine Chicks and Women’s Wine and Dine.

I hope to continue to see an increase in the number of women leaders in the wine industry…in fact I hope to become one myself!

Information on Eileen Crane found at :http://www.domainecarneros.com/Winemakers

What is the perfect wine to drink with your Thanksgiving meal? Well that depends on what you are eating, and it will be very hard to pair a wine with everything on the table. Most people should probably just stick to their favorite wine, however some varietals that can be big winners are Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer and Riesling!

In case you are scrambling for some last-minute wines to take to the big feast here are some award-winning wines that will be sure to please your palate!

Rodney Strong 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

• Gold Medal Winner at the 2009 National Womens Wine Competition

Nicholson Ranch 2006 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

• Double Gold Best of Class Winner at the 2009 National Womens Wine  competition

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Finger Lakes Gewurtztraminer

• Gold Medal Winner at the 2009 National Womens Wine Competition

Want something environmentally Friendly? Try one of these:

Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards 2007 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

• 100% Organically Grown Grapes
• Gold Medal Winner at the 2009 International Green Wine Competition

Johan Vineyards 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

(This wine will be on my table!)

• This winery is currently transitioning to an Organic Vineyard
• Bronze Medal Winner at the 2009 International Green Wine Competition

Pacific Rim 2007 Columbia Valley Riesling

• Demeter Certified Biodynamic (R)
• Gold Medal Winner 2009 National Womens Wine Competition

I love any excuse to open a bottle of bubbly and for all of you fellow sparkling wine lovers out there you can never go wrong with one of these bottles:

Gloria Ferrer 2004 Blanc de Blancs

• Double Gold Best of Class Winner at the 2009 National Womens Wine competition

Chateau Frank 2002 Blanc de Blancs

• Gold Medal Winner at the 2009 National Womens Wine Competition

• 2^nd Annual U.S. Professional Wine Buyers Competition™

Judging Monday, January 18, 2010

www.prowinebuyerscomp.info

Deadline for Entry & Wine Receipt:  January 5, 2010

Don’t know how to get the attention of  U.S. Retail Wine Buyers?  This is the competition for you!

Top US Wine Buyers will judge over 1,000 entries.  The resulting “Buyers Guide” will be distributed to retail wine buyers throughout the U.S. including restaurants, wine shops, supermarkets, etc. as a way to give professional buyers a “cheat sheet” for buying medal-winning wines determined by their peers.  $55 until Sept. 30, $75 thereafter.

Bonus!  Entrants will receive full contact information for the U.S. Wine Buyers judges after the competition.

• 4^th Annual National Women’s Wine Competition™

Judging Monday-Tuesday March 22-23, 2010

www.nwwc.info

Deadline for Entry/Wine receipt:

Saturday, March 12, 2010

Do you have the wine women want?  Now in it’s fourth year, the first, the original, competition judged entirely by leading women in the wine industry.  Open Competition is open to any commercial winery in the world; Women Winemaker’s Challenge is open to wines made by women throughout the world.  $55/entry until January 15, $65/entry thereafter.  Late fee:  $85 after March 1, 2010

• NEW! Organic & Biodynamic Wine Competition™

FORMERLY THE GREEN WINE COMPETITION™

Judging Monday, May 17

info@obwinecomp.info or info@greenwinecomp.info

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Deadline for Entry/Wine receipt: Monday May 2, 2010

This competition is now restricted to certified Organic, Biodynamic, and Transitional Wines, plus wines made from organic grapes.  Transitional means that the wineries are transitioning to Certified Organic or Biodynamic status.  Proof of Certification Required.  Sustainable entries will not be accepted and will not be returned or refunded if submitted.

Top industry leaders, bloggers and media will judge. Entries will be accepted January 15.  Early bird, $75, after February 15, $95/entry regular entry fee.

• NEW! NextGen Wine Competition™ for Millennial Wine Drinkers

Judging Monday-Tuesday June 14-15

Wineries & Media please contact:  Lea Pierce, Managing Director, 707-547-7414 or 707-568-3900

Deadline for Entry/Wine receipt: Saturday, June 5, 2010

This exciting new competition answers the question, “What do young wine drinkers want?”  All judges will be between the ages of 21-35 and will include rising chefs, sommaliers, wine educators, bloggers, and others peer-reviewed as superstars in the Millennial Wine category.  Entries begin February 1, 2010.  Early Bird $75 to April 1; $95 thereafter.

We are also currently working on a few other projects so stay tuned for more information! For daily information follow us on Twitter at WineCompMgmt.

If you are interested in volunteering for either the Pro Wine Buyers Competition or the National Women’s Wine Competition please send us an email at www.prowinebuyerscomp.info or www.nwwc.info.

Group One: Certified Biodynamic(R)

Wines made from grapes certified by Biodyvin (France) or Demeter (USA or International)

Wines entered in this category must be made from biodynamically grown grapes from certified vineyards. Acceptable third-party agencies include Biodyvin (France). and Demeter (USA or International). Proof of current certification must accompany your entry.

In addition to being certified organic, grapes grown in these vineyards must follow specified vineyard practices and in winemaking must adhere to required standards, such as using no genetically modified yeasts or enzymes.

Group Two: Certified Organic

Wines made from certified organically grown grapes and produced in a certified organic production facility.

Wines in this category must be made from grapes grown in certified organic vineyards and then produced following certified organic guidelines in certified organic production facilities.  This means the grapes are grown without the use of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and the production equipment is used solely for the production of organic wines, and has never been used for non-organic wine production. Certification may be given by any USDA accredited third party agency such as CCOF, Oregon TILTH, France’s ECOCERT, or Australia’s ACO, etc.  A copy of the up-to-date certification must be included with your entry.

A certifier statement on your label (such as USDA Organic) may also be used as proof for this category.

Group Three: Transitional

Wines made from grapes grown in vineyards transitioning to organic or biodynamic certification.

This category is intended for those vineyards undertaking organic or biodynamic certification that have not yet completed the certification process. Proof of enrollment with third party certification agency (Demeter International, CCOF, Oregon TILTH, or France’s ECOCERT must accompany your entry.

Please check out www.greenwinecomp.info more information including deadlines, judges and fees.

Also check out the list of last year’s medal winners in the 2008 Consumer’s Green Wine Shopping List.

It’s official, the winner’s from the NWWC have been released. This is a great list of the winner’s. This is a list comprising of many different types of wine and hope everyone can find what they are looking for. For more details follow the link.

We are in the beginning stages of organizing a new wine competition, in which i cannot tell you the name. We are looking for possible judges that have extensive background in wine and would like to judge. We are looking for men and women between the ages of 21-35. The competition will take place in 2010, so if you turn 35 in 2010 that is ok. Please send your information to peterbeckwithssu@gmail.com. Thanks you those who want to participate. If you are a winery and are interested, contact the link above at NWWC and there they can guide you in the right direction. 

Just to remind everyone again the Green Wine Competition is coming soon so make sure to start contacting us and sending in you wine. It is a very good competition, and we look forward to all those that participate.

Hello again, it is almost time to release the winner’s of the National Women’s Wine Competition. The list will be released in April and then the general public will have a great list of wines to try out. You can find the list on this blog page or you can go to the main page that is linked in the “about” section. 

I have also attached some videos that are neat to watch that were taken during the first three days of the competition. The last video is sweeps, in which all the judges meet in one room to decide on the wines that have already one. The wines then will be looked at under further review from all the judges and given medals. The sweeps is the last part of judging that takes place.

Like I said before in another post is that the International Green Wine Competition is going to be taking place in June, 2009. Entries are currently being gathered and if you want to participate, do contact myself or use the contact information above. 

Videos

day 1

day 2

day 3

Hello everyone, this is the home of Wine Competition Management and the home of all three wine competitions that were previously mentioned in the “about” section of the site. As we get further into the year we approach a new competition. We are coming off a successful Women’s Wine Competition and are looking forward to the next competition. 

The next competition is the International Green Wine Competition. The competition is aimed at organic and biodynamic wines. For further details, just click on the link provided. As the competitions grow, so do the increase in the popularity of the wines that win. For the green competition, organic and biodynamic wines are becoming more and more popular. We are accepting wine so check it out. 

As the United States and the rest of the world attempt to become greener, so to are many wineries. What better way to help get people interested in the environment than organic wines. Some wineries are attempting to become green to. Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma is trying it’s hand at making growing even easier. They are one of the first wineries to use solar panels on their water ponds for better use of energy. 

For more interesting details from Wine Competition Management please use the RSS feed to join us every time you need to read about wine.