# 39th Annual US Amateur Winemaking Competition



## acorad (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi all, the 39th Annual US Amateur Winemaking Competition - including meads, cysers, pyments and melomels - will be held on November 17, 2012.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BETWEEN October 10th and November 9th 2012

at the Home Beer, Wine and Cheesemaking Shop in Woodland Hills, CA. (www.HomeBeerWineCheese.com)

Entry forms and rules are posted on our website at: http://www.CellarmastersLA.org.

Cellarmasters has been sponsoring running the 39th Annual US Amateur Winemaking Competition since the club was founded 39 years ago.

The Competition is an all-volunteer endeavor and is the oldest home wine competition in the US.

Good luck to all!

Andy


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 8, 2012)

I have nothing to enter, but I'm curious - can kit wines be entered, or does it all have to be from grapes/juice?


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## acorad (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi BoatBoy24, yes, kit wines are entered every year.

Andy


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## Runningwolf (Aug 8, 2012)

Folks, I have entered this competition the last two years taking home gold both years and "best of show" last year. This is an awesome competition and club. Take a look at their web site and you'll see it's a club worth joining even if it's only for the newsletter. I got lazy last year and didn't send my check in for renewal but need to do that this year for sure. The price to enter the competition is very reasonable and you'll get honest feedback on your wine. Over 2000 miles away, I have no personal affiliation but highly recommend them.


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## tatud4life (Aug 8, 2012)

I won't be able to enter the TVOS competition this year, but I plan on entering it next year. I might just enter this one as well next year. Thanks for the info!!!


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## bg7mm (Aug 9, 2012)

dan, can you post the exact method you used to ship entries?

how you packed, what service for mailing you used?


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## Runningwolf (Aug 9, 2012)

I use inexpensive wine mailers you can buy through Presque Isle Wine Cellars. I shp with Fedex or UPS. Never use the Postal Service.


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## southlake333 (Aug 9, 2012)

Woohoo! I am totally going to enter this. Quick question, what would a hard apple cider be considered in the below categories? Other?

Class 5: SWEET

Subclass: 
a - Vinifera Grape 
b - Non-vinifera Grape 
c - Stone Fruit
d - Berry Fruit 
e - Fruit & Wine blends 
f - Other


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## tonyt (Aug 9, 2012)

So what category should I enter a kit Ice Wine style?


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## Runningwolf (Aug 9, 2012)

tonyt said:


> So what category should I enter a kit Ice Wine style?


 

Class 7 Desert Wine


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## Runningwolf (Aug 9, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> Woohoo! I am totally going to enter this. Quick question, what would a hard apple cider be considered in the below categories? Other?
> 
> Class 5: SWEET
> 
> ...


 
What is your rs%? This determines dry or sweet

apple would be fruit.

Other could be Rhubarb, Skeeter Pee, etc


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## southlake333 (Aug 9, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> What is your rs%? This determines dry or sweet
> 
> apple would be fruit.
> 
> Other could be Rhubarb, Skeeter Pee, etc



I haven't sweetened this batch yet but it'll be 1.008 - 1.012. So not dessert.


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## hobbyiswine (Aug 11, 2012)

I was looking at the entry form and it has "concentrate" listed as a sub category for red and white wines. Is this for kit wines or are the kit wines entered as varietals?


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## hobbyiswine (Aug 11, 2012)

Another question...the Mead category has sub categories of "Mead" and "other wine from honey". What's the difference?


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## Runningwolf (Aug 11, 2012)

hobbyiswine said:


> I was looking at the entry form and it has "concentrate" listed as a sub category for red and white wines. Is this for kit wines or are the kit wines entered as varietals?


 
Kit wines are considered concentrates.


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## acorad (Oct 10, 2012)

Hi all, today is 10/10, we are now accepting entries!

Good luck!

Andy


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## tatud4life (Oct 10, 2012)

That is great!! I would log to see how my wine stands up to others!!! How do we enter? Where do I need to go to get an entry form?


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## acorad (Oct 10, 2012)

Hi Marc, Entry forms and rules are posted on our at: http://www.CellarmastersLA.org.


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## tatud4life (Oct 10, 2012)

AWESOME!!! I'll get started when I get to work on Friday. When is the cut off?


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## acorad (Oct 10, 2012)

All entries must be received between October 10th and November 9th 2012.

Andy


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## dangerdave (Oct 11, 2012)

Thanks for the info Andy! I may send in a couple of my wines.


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## acorad (Oct 11, 2012)

Great!

Andy


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## Fabiola (Oct 11, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> Folks, I have entered this competition the last two years taking home gold both years and "best of show" last year. This is an awesome competition and club. Take a look at their web site and you'll see it's a club worth joining even if it's only for the newsletter. I got lazy last year and didn't send my check in for renewal but need to do that this year for sure. The price to enter the competition is very reasonable and you'll get honest feedback on your wine. Over 2000 miles away, I have no personal affiliation but highly recommend them.



Hi Runningwolf! You seem to have lots of experience in winemaking as well as contests, what would be your advise to a newbie to enter a competition? What do we need to take care of if we are planning to compete? and what are the judges looking for in a wine?


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## Runningwolf (Oct 11, 2012)

Fabiola said:


> Hi Runningwolf! You seem to have lots of experience in winemaking as well as contests, what would be your advise to a newbie to enter a competition? What do we need to take care of if we are planning to compete? and what are the judges looking for in a wine?


 
*what would be your advise to a newbie to enter a competition? *Enter a competition to get some honest, unbiased comments about your wine. I entered my first competitions locally to meet other winemakers in the area and to find out what the judges had to say about my wine. Most competitions will have 2-3 judges, so read the comments from each one. They may differ quite a bit. So just jump in and enter a few of your best wines (the wines your friends keep asking for).

Presentation of label is not so important as the wines are usually placed in paper bags so the judges do not know who's wine it is. That is unless you are planning on entering your label into competition.

Enter your wine into the right catagory. It should be crystal clear with no sediment what so ever. Filtering could mean the difference of 1rst place or 2nd. Judges will also be looking for wine faults, C02, or if the wine is still green. 

I hope this helps. I know several other folks enter numerous competitions and they may step in and mention something I forgot.


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## Fabiola (Oct 11, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> *what would be your advise to a newbie to enter a competition? *Enter a competition to get some honest, unbiased comments about your wine. I entered my first competitions locally to meet other winemakers in the area and to find out what the judges had to say about my wine. Most competitions will have 2-3 judges, so read the comments from each one. They may differ quite a bit. So just jump in and enter a few of your best wines (the wines your friends keep asking for).
> 
> Presentation of label is not so important as the wines are usually placed in paper bags so the judges do not know who's wine it is. That is unless you are planning on entering your label into competition.
> 
> ...



Thanks a lot for the advise...


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## tatud4life (Oct 12, 2012)

Just paid the entry fee and printed out the entry form! Only going to enter 1 bottle this year. The Strawberry Skeeter Pee that my wife loves. I don't care if I win anything. I just want to see what other wine drinkers and makers have to say about it. Get some feedback from the experts.


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## tatud4life (Oct 13, 2012)

Quick question about this competition. What would I classify strawberry skeeter pee and what is the appellation? I'm thinking the classification should be sweet, berry fruit, lemon, but the appellation is confusing me.


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## dangerdave (Oct 14, 2012)

The appellation is optional, and with skeeter pee, virtually impossible to determine. Unless you know where the lemons were grown. LOL!

Dan said the Skeeter Pees would fall under the "Other" catagory in the "Sweet" section, not the "Berry Fruit". I think he might be right (as usual ), because technically, it's lemon wine with other fruit added. My _Dragon Blood_ (which I am entering this year, mind you) has 48oz of lemon juice and six pounds of fruit in the primary, and I always refer to it as lemon wine with fruit added...so...I'm going with Dan's recommendation. Since the lemon juice incorporates 75% of the "grape or fruit" variety (as opposed to the smaller amount of juice squeezed from the six pounds of berries), I think the variety should be "lemon".

Does that sound logical? Has anyone entered skeeter pee in this contest before? How did you classify it, and was that classification satisfactory for the judges? I guess, as long as the class and subclass are right, the rest is fairly arbitrary.

Dragon Blood (Triple-Berry Skeeter Pee) = 7 - f - Lemon; or could I make the variety Lemon/Blackberry/Raspberry/Blueberry. Would that be too confusing? Ugh! I don't know!


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## tatud4life (Oct 14, 2012)

Lol!!! I'll get right on discovering where the lemons were grown!! Lol. That mass perfect sense to me. I guess my strawberry pee would be classified the same way. Looks like there will be some excellent competition with you sending you Dragon's Blood in Dave! I'm looking forward to seeing how my stuff compares. Now I just have to get a label filled out and send it in. I guess I'll just leave the appellation blank. Good luck to everyone that is entering!!!!


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## dangerdave (Oct 14, 2012)

You, too, Marc! I've got some wine mailers coming soon. I'm sending two entries. Haven't decided on the second one yet.


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## tatud4life (Oct 14, 2012)

I'm just sending one this year. Next year, I'll send two entries at least. One of them will be from my batch of muscadine wine that I'll be starting in about a week. I keep putting it off because I'm a little scared. I don't want to screw it up. I'm sending mine from my local UPS store. I'll let them bundle my bottle up all snug and protected. Lol


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## ckassotis (Oct 14, 2012)

Depending on your store, I wouldn't suggest that. All UPS stores that I have dealt with will not ship wine if they know you are shipping it. USPS it is actually not legal though, so we tend to use FedEx or UPS. The trick is not telling them it is wine. They can and will scan it though, and if you don't tell them you have a liquid, they can cause issues for you. Stock answers are olive oil, balsamic vinegar, etc.


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## tatud4life (Oct 14, 2012)

Here it is!! My very first bottle of wine for competition!!!


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## tatud4life (Oct 14, 2012)

ckassotis said:


> Depending on your store, I wouldn't suggest that. All UPS stores that I have dealt with will not ship wine if they know you are shipping it. USPS it is actually not legal though, so we tend to use FedEx or UPS. The trick is not telling them it is wine. They can and will scan it though, and if you don't tell them you have a liquid, they can cause issues for you. Stock answers are olive oil, balsamic vinegar, etc.



Thanks!!! I might just go get the packaging tomorrow and then ship it on Tuesday. Try a little covert operation.


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## dangerdave (Oct 16, 2012)

OOPS! Skeeter Pee is _not a desert wine_, so not class 7. It's a class Sweet (5), subclass Other (f), Variety Lemon. I almost labelled it wrong!


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## tatud4life (Oct 16, 2012)

Lol. I almost called you on that one, but I didn't want to seem like a know it all.  

Trying to get my label printed right now so I can send it on its way.


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## dangerdave (Oct 16, 2012)

Please, Marc, if you ever see me making a mistake, ask! "Hey, Dave, are you sure that's right?" is not a know-it-all question. We all make mistakes, and we should be here to help straighten eachother out when we do. I got your back...you got mine.

Brothers in winemaking! Right? 

Anyway, here's my two entries. Dragon Blood (lemon/raspberry/blackberry/blueberry) on the left and littLEMONkey (lemon with lemon zest) on the right. Both bottled in June 2012, so they should be at the peak of their flavor curve.







And here they are labelled and nestled snuggly in their shipper for departure this afternoon. Good luck, all who are entering!

Note: I wedged an extra cork piece at the top of each, and a few slices of cardboard below the littLEMONkey to make them nice and snug.


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## tatud4life (Oct 16, 2012)

Yes we are brothers in winemaking!!! I'm just used to being called a know it all by my wife. I have your back Dave!!! I'll do better next time Dave!

Those are some beautiful looking bottles you have there!!! I had to hand write my label due to technical (wife) difficulties. Lol. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to send mine off so I can show her the way to use Avery's software. I'll post a pic before I package it.


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## tatud4life (Oct 16, 2012)

Dave, shouldn't it be classified as 5-f-lemon? Then specify what fruits you flavored it with?


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## dangerdave (Oct 16, 2012)

Well, I decided to add the sub-catagory: _Other_, then specifiy lemon for the lemon wine and lemon/blackberry/blueberry/raspberry for the Dragon Blood. The form includes my phone number and email address, so I figure if they have questions, they can contact me. I think they'll figure it out. I can't be the first doofus who entered their contest...


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## tatud4life (Oct 16, 2012)

Lol!!!! I think that honor will fall on me!!!! After thinking about it, I think you are correct. The varietal is probably referring to the grape and, since there is not any grapes in the wine, then it should probably be specified as other. That means that I'll have to print off another label!!  At least I hadn't put it on the bottle yet.


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## tatud4life (Oct 17, 2012)

My little bottle of competition is on its way!!  I hope it has good results! Good luck to everyone that enters!!!!!


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## dangerdave (Oct 17, 2012)

Good luck to you, Marc. The strawberry SP looks good! If you win an award, you can call yourself an "award-winning" winemaker! It only takes one!


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## tatud4life (Oct 17, 2012)

Lol!! Thanks Dave!!! Good luck to you as well!!!!! If I do win an award, it wont make me a great wine maker just yet. Just a decorated one!


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## tonyt (Oct 17, 2012)

I sent off a bottle of Mosti Cab/syrah today. I called to ask how to classify it and was told all kis are classified as concentrate. Not what I expected but I sent it in as red concentrate. We'll see.


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## tatud4life (Oct 17, 2012)

Good luck to you tony!!! I'm glad I'm not in that class. Maybe I'll have a chance then!!  I'll be in the same class as Dave so I doubt I'll have a chance anyway. Lol


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## hobbyiswine (Oct 17, 2012)

Time to get some bottles ready. Only problem is that my wine buddy just had a baby and we had to push back our taste test until Halloween. Going to taste through a bunch of wines and decide how many to send in for the contest. This will be my first so pretty excited. Hopefully they show ok since they will likely arrive just before the deadline.


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## hobbyiswine (Oct 20, 2012)

Question on how to classify some wines. What would be the classification for a white wine kit with part of the fpac added? Its off dry and a blend.

What about category 10? The "other/everything else" category? Do you write on the label what is in the bottle or just call it category 10-a and let the judges figure it out?


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## ckassotis (Oct 22, 2012)

If it is a kit, ie from concentrate, I would assume you would classify it as such: class 2 - K, unless I'm misunderstanding. Don't think you want to be in category 10, that is going to be nothing similar to your wine at all.


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## hobbyiswine (Oct 22, 2012)

Sorry for the confusion. Two seperate entries and trying to figure how to classify each. The category 10 is definately different but in a good way. Just not sure how much info to put on the label. Lets just say it is a fortified fruit type wine coctail but not a dessert wine.


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## dangerdave (Oct 29, 2012)

My entries arrived at their destination last week. Judging commences on November 17th! About three weeks out!


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## hobbyiswine (Oct 29, 2012)

I paid for my entries and boxed them up tonight. Going to send in four bottles. Decided not to send in any kit wines and just submit the stuff I cooked up in my closet from scratch. First time sending anything in to be judged. Can't wait to see the comments. Lets see what the judges have to say but regardless they are all gold medals to me!


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## acorad (Nov 8, 2012)

Hi all, due to numerous requests, we are extending the deadline for entries to 11/14/12!

Entries go to: The Home Beer, Wine and Cheesemaking Shop in Woodland Hills, CA. (www.HomeBeerWineCheese.com)

Get those entries in and good luck!
Best,
Andy


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## dangerdave (Nov 16, 2012)

Judging starts tomorrow?


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## tatud4life (Nov 16, 2012)

Yes Dave it does!!!!!  Can't wait to see ow I match up with everyone else! I would like to see where I need to improve.


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## dangerdave (Nov 16, 2012)

Yes, indeed! That's why I sent them some Dragon Blood. I want to improve the recipe. Unfortunately, the score cards and judge's notes will not be sent out until after the first of the year. We'll have to wait to get the real feedback.

Anyway, good luck all!


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## tatud4life (Nov 17, 2012)

Yeah. I'll be on pins and needles waiting.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 17, 2012)

I'm on pins and needles for you guys!


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## tatud4life (Nov 17, 2012)

Lol!!!! Thanks boatboy!!!!


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## Terry0220 (Nov 17, 2012)

Good luck to you guys!!! Can't wait to hear what you guys hear!! BTW,,dangerdave,,remember the "new and improved" may not be the best to the original,,,,from what I've read it is awsome,,,,(someday I will join in and make some) or your improved could just be another addition to what you already make,,ie: Dragon Blood II coming soon,,,,


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## dangerdave (Nov 19, 2012)

Good point, Terry. I've gotten good reviews from losts of folk right here! Who needs judges!

Well, I sent them some anyways. I'll be interested to read the judge's notes and such. Constructive feedback is always good.


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## dangerdave (Nov 19, 2012)

"7) Judging will be conducted on November 17, 2012 and the award winners will be posted on the Cellarmasters web site (http://www.cellarmastersLA.org) promptly."

No word about winners on the cellarmaster's web site yet. I know they extended the entry deadline, but I wonder if they got going on the judging on Saturday. If there were a lot of enties, it may take the judges a few days to sober up.


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## tatud4life (Nov 19, 2012)

I know Dave. I've looked all day. Lol


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## hobbyiswine (Nov 25, 2012)

The results are in. I can officially call myself an award winning winemaker! 

Lime/tequila fortified-gold medal
Lemon/pinot blanc/peach-silver medal
Sweet tea mead-silver medal
Cran/razz skeeter-bronze medal

Can't wait to see the tasting notes! Will be interested to see what the tasters think. I am excited but a bit surprised too. The mead has only been in the bottle a few months and the others I bottled about two weeks before shipping and they were in the carboy on lees after cleering only a couple weeks before bottling. One competition down...many to go. Congrats to all the entries!


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## Pumpkinman (Nov 25, 2012)

Congrats! My hat is off to you!


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## tatud4life (Nov 25, 2012)

Congrats!!!! How did you find out? I don't see anything on their website.


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## hobbyiswine (Nov 25, 2012)

They sent me an email last Friday. Silly me I didnt check my email over the weekend. Hahahaha. I dont see anything on the website yet.


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## Runningwolf (Nov 26, 2012)

That is so awesome! Congratulations


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## tatud4life (Nov 26, 2012)

That's awesome!!!! Excellent job!!


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## joeswine (Nov 26, 2012)

*Great job*

IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUN,,CONGRATS


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 26, 2012)

Fantastic! Congratulations.


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## dangerdave (Nov 26, 2012)

Got back home yesterday and checked my emails: The Dragon Blood and the littLEMONkey (lemon wine) both won a silver award! Woot!

Marc! Is that a gold you won for your strawberry lemon skeeter pee? Nice! 

Good job hobbyiswine! Excellent!


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## wineforfun (Nov 26, 2012)

Good luck to all. Very interested to hear how things go as I am a newbie and am eager to learn.


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## jswordy (Nov 26, 2012)

Congrats to all the award winners! It make ya want to get back fermenting, doesn't it?


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## tatud4life (Nov 26, 2012)

I finally saw the results today. I want to thank everyone here that helped get me started!!! 

Dave, that is me!!! I can't believe that I actually won!! Thank you for posting your recipe for Dragon's Blood and letting us tinker with it!! Congrats to you for winning as well!!!!!

Congrats to everyone who won!!!!


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## Pumpkinman (Nov 26, 2012)

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## bein_bein (Nov 30, 2012)

Congrats guys! 
My carrot took a bronze and my Beet wine took a silver. I too am interested in seeing what the judge's notes say..


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## tatud4life (Nov 30, 2012)

Congrats bein bein!!


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## dangerdave (Dec 1, 2012)

bein_bein said:


> Congrats guys!
> My carrot took a bronze and my Beet wine took a silver. I too am interested in seeing what the judge's notes say..


 
Very nice!


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## hobbyiswine (Jan 10, 2013)

Medals and notes arrived today! Feels like Christmas!


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## Runningwolf (Jan 10, 2013)

Beautiful! Congratulations!


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## tatud4life (Jan 11, 2013)

hobbyiswine said:


> Medals and notes arrived today! Feels like Christmas!
> 
> View attachment 6648


 
If yours arrived yesterday, then mine should be there today.  You live in Texas and I live in Tennessee so that should be about right. Congrats!!!! Great looking wines!


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## dangerdave (Jan 12, 2013)

I got my two silvers the other day, along with the Competition Score Sheets. They are very nice. My wife calls me "The Award-Winning Wine Maker", now. She is my biggest fan! 







What I would like to do, here, is share the info from my judges' score sheets, so we may all be edified, and anyone who is thinking of entering a similar contest can see what the judges are looking for. I also find this competition judging very interesting (being a student of human nature) from a demographic viewpoint. Read on and observe...

The judges consisted of two women and one man. I will refer to them as Lady1, Lady2, and The Russian Judge, respectively. I will list the catagories, the scores given by each judge, and any notes they added. 

*I. "littLEMONkey" Lemon Wine (Skeeter Pee [original lemon] flavored with lemon zest)* 

ABSENCE OF WINEMAKING FAULTS
Absence of noticeable sulpohur containing compounds (_rotten egg, mercaptan, onion, cabbage_)
Absence of noticeable oxidation or heat exposure (_acetaldehyde, sherry, glue_)
Absemce of detectable effervescence (_bubbles_)
Absence of volatile acid compunds (_acetic acid, vinegar, rotten apples_)
Absence of excessive sediment or cloudiness
Lady1: no faults
Lady2: no fualts
The Russian Judge: _present_---noticeable oxidation or heat exposure (note: "cleaning fluid on the nose") 

APPEARENCE: CLARITY AND COLOR:... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 2 points (note: "Brilliant, pale yellow color")
Lady2: 1.5 points (note: "slightly cloudy")
The Russian Judge: 2 points 

AROMA AND BOUQUET:... _4 points maximum_
Lady1: 4 points (note: "Lovely lemon aroma essence of lemon")
Lady2: 3.5 points (note: "Very prominent leomn/zest (maybe)")
The Russian Judge: 1 point ((note: "Disagreeable acetaldehyde (cleaning fluid")

_note_: acetaldehyde odor is a wine fault described as "smell of roasted nuts or dried out straw". 

BALANCE: (acid, tannin, & sugar) Sweetness/Acidity/Bitterness/Astringency:... _3 points maximum_
Lady1: 2.5 points (note: "Good Acid: Sugar Ratio")
Lady2: 3 points (note: "Nicely balabced acid/sugar. Slightly bitter which is balanced with sweetness. Very Good!")
The Russian Judge: 1.5 points (note: "lack of sweetness lets the lemon acids overwhelm")

BODY / TEXTURE:... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 2.5 points (?) (note: "smooth, nice body")
Lady2: 2 points (note: "Firm & well structured")
The Russian Judge: 1 point (note: "thin")

TASTE / FLAVOR:... _4 points maximum_
Lady1: 3.5 points (note: "luscious leon flavor, fruity, multi-layered, and agreeable")
Lady2: 3.5 points (note: "Nicely done with doog clean lemon flavor")
The Russian Judge: 2 points (note: "Lemony but needs residual sugar to make it interesting")

FINISH:.... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 2 points (note: "nice lingering finish")
Lady2: 2 points (note: "clean & balanced")
The Russian Judge: 1.5 points (note: "long and lemony")

OVERALL QUALITY:... _3 points maximum_
Lady1: 3 points (note: "Delicious! I want to drink more!")
Lady2: 2.5 points (note: "Very Good! Sparkling would be an added benefit")
The Russian Judge: 2 points (note: "Lemony but needs residual sugar to make it interesting"<repeated>)

TOTAL SCORE:
Lady1: 18.5 points (the total of her scores was actually 19.5 points)
Lady2: 18 points
The Russian Judge: 11 points

INDIVIDUAL JUDGE'S RECOMMENDATION:
Lady1: Gold Medal
Lady2: (nothing marked)
The Russian Judge: Honorable Mention 

*II. DRAGON BLOOD (Lemon Wine with raspberry/blackberry/blueberry)* 

ABSENCE OF WINEMAKING FAULTS
Absence of noticeable sulpohur containing compounds (_rotten egg, mercaptan, onion, cabbage_)
Absence of noticeable oxidation or heat exposure (_acetaldehyde, sherry, glue_)
Absemce of detectable effervescence (_bubbles_)
Absence of volatile acid compunds (_acetic acid, vinegar, rotten apples_)
Absence of excessive sediment or cloudiness
Lady1: no faults
Lady2: (nothing marked)
The Russian Judge: no faults 

APPEARENCE: CLARITY AND COLOR:... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 2 points (note: "Brilliant, lovely rose color")
Lady2: 2 points (note: "deep pink and clear")
The Russian Judge: 2 points 

AROMA AND BOUQUET:... _4 points maximum_
Lady1: 3.5 points (note: "delicate fruit aroma nice berry:lemon")
Lady2: 3.5 points (note: "lemon and berries blend nicely-")
The Russian Judge: 4 point ((note: "Cotton candy and vanilla (maybe from oak)")

_note_: I use no oak in my Dragon Blood

BALANCE: (acid, tannin, & sugar) Sweetness/Acidity/Bitterness/Astringency:... _3 points maximum_
Lady1: 2.5 points (note: "Good Acid: Sugar Ratio")
Lady2: 2.5 points (note: "Balance towar sweet side which is appropriate. Good support from acid & tannin")
The Russian Judge: 1.5 points (note: "flabby / lacking sugar & acid") 

BODY / TEXTURE:... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 1.5 points (note: "nice body")
Lady2: 2 points (note: "Firm, smooth")
The Russian Judge: 1.5 point (note: "slightly sharp") 

TASTE / FLAVOR:... _4 points maximum_
Lady1: 3.5 points (note: "nice balance of berry and lemon")
Lady2: 3.5 points (note: "Nice blend of berry and lemon. Complex & balanced")
The Russian Judge: 2.5 points (note: "very berry") 

FINISH:.... _2 points maximum_
Lady1: 1.5 points (note: "lingering flavors")
Lady2: 2 points (note: "lasting with clean finish")
The Russian Judge: 2 points (note: "long. sweetness finally reveals itself") 

OVERALL QUALITY:... _3 points maximum_
Lady1: 2.5 points (note: "Well Done!")
Lady2: 2.5 points (note: "Very Good Job!")
The Russian Judge: 2 points (note: "I think more residual sugar & tad more acid might make this more interesting") 

TOTAL SCORE:
Lady1: 17 points 
Lady2: 18 points
The Russian Judge: 15.5 points 

INDIVIDUAL JUDGE'S RECOMMENDATION:
Lady1: Silver Medal
Lady2: (nothing marked)
The Russian Judge: Silver & Bronze both marked

In the end, all the Judge's Panel Consensus equated to Silver Medals for both. Very interesting, huh? After reading through the score sheets, I said that very thing, "Ineresting." My wife---sitting next to me---said, "Let me read that!" I knew what her reaction was going to be. Like I've said, she is my biggest fan.

Skimming through the sheets she hrumphed, "thin"?!, "flabby"?! Then she growled, "The Russian Judge doesn't like you very much, does he?" (That's where I got the name.) I had to laugh!

In conclusion, I found this contest (my first) a very positive experience. As long as you understand when entering such competitions that judging wines can be very subjective to the judge's personal tastes. Once I have some more experience under my belt, I plan to enter more competitions, and will likely participate in this one again next year!

Thanks for reading! Cheers!


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## Runningwolf (Jan 12, 2013)

Dave thanks for the post. Exactly what I've been saying for years. I took best of show from this exact same competition one year and didn't even place for the same wine in another. Even in numerous local competitions I would have the exact same thing happen. 

I still welcome all the comments from different judges and take them serious drawing my own conclusion. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is what your spouse likes so they continue to support you in this hobby and what you like. 

On the other hand, there is an awful lot of bad home made wine out there (and commercial), if only they would enter some competitions to be told the truth.


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## tatud4life (Jan 12, 2013)

Thanks for posting Dave!!! I'll post my result tomorrow when I'm at a computer. I'm not typing all that out on my phone. Lol. I'm curious though. What does long mean when referenced to wine?


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## dangerdave (Jan 12, 2013)

Marc, I believe the reference to "long" in the FINISH catagory means that the flavor stays in the mouth for a while. As in the DB, the berry taste seems to linger on the tongue a long time.


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## ShawnDTurner (Jan 12, 2013)

Congrats Dave! What S.G. do prefer to backsweeten for your DB?


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## DirtyDawg10 (Jan 12, 2013)

Nice job on the awards everyone!


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## dangerdave (Jan 13, 2013)

ShawnDTurner said:


> Congrats Dave! What S.G. do prefer to backsweeten for your DB?


 
I shoot for around 1.010, Shawn.


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## tatud4life (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks Dave. I wasn't sure what he meant.


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## ShawnDTurner (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks dave


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