39th Annual US Amateur Winemaking Competition

[Runningwolf]

Beautiful! Congratulations!

 

[tatud4life]

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!

 

[dangerdave]

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!

 

[Runningwolf]

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.

 

[tatud4life]

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?

 

[dangerdave]

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.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

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

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Nice job on the awards everyone!

 

[dangerdave]

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

I shoot for around 1.010, Shawn.

 

[tatud4life]

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

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Thanks dave