first competition

[countrygirl]

alrighty, been laying low, checking in here and there, bottled a bunch of blackberry to give away for christmas, etc.
now, my dad sends me a newspaper clipping...the larger town where i work is having an amatuer wine competition!!! am i ready for this?
need advice and tips

the gentleman i spoke with today said they had 6 categories: dry red and white, sweet red and white, blackberry (has it's own separate category?) and other fruit. the blackberry is what i was considering entering until he said that was their most popular category, dang it...
i have 1 gallon of peach left...everybody already drank it up...
i have the kit's, lambrusco and beaujolais...
the white from the missouri grapes, but i think that will need more aging???
btw, will the sweet and dry differences be based soley on s.g.??
thanks all!

 

[Wade E]

Go for it! Give the peach a try also and any other wines you think are ready, youd be surprised at how good your wines are!

 

[jiml]

You could always take the white wine and freeze it. It will instantly "age/improve" it.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Go for it!! I know my whites still need some aging - although they good complexity and body - it still tastes a little green.

 

[Runningwolf]

First off what is the entry fee. If it is only a few dollars I would enter everything. Just as Wade recently told me don't under estimate your wines. The main reason I first entered competitions this past fall was to meet other winemakers in the area. I did accomplish that and made some nice friends, the other benefit was to learn about other wines and getting new ideas for next year. I would put these two accomplishments first. The other two benefits is to learn what the judges have to say about your wine and then the ribbons or medals. Go for it!

 

[toddrod]

Could you post more details on this competition? I would be interested in sending in a bottle of my muscadines wine.

 

[countrygirl]

ya'll continue to be AWESOME!
i didn't know about the instant "age"/freeze trick, but i agree with winemaker, our whites are still a little "green", but, i think that will be my first "great" wine
the entry fee is 5$ per entry, so 30 if u did each category, but i don't have enough for every category.
it's the western kentucky wine growers association. the newspaper clipping didn't say anything about mail ins. you have to bring your entries to a local restraunt and fill out ur entry form there. they have to be in by jan. 11th. and awards on jan. 18th. the gentleman in charge said the public and entries were welcome both nights, and that there would be wine tasting on the 11th? don't know if he meant of the entries or not? this restraunt does occ. have wine tastings. i'm gonna check my s.g. on my lambrusco and beaujolais and i'll let ya'll know! thanks again

 

[Julie]

Hi countrygirl,

Good Luck!

 

[abefroman]

GL!

If you've got tips here, your wine is probably better than most people's home made wine, so you should have an edge in that sense.

Make sure your wine is clear, as that is an important grading factor.

 

[countrygirl]

thanks for my well wishes
the lambrusco is 1.000
so this would go in the dry category? it's very smooth with on odd spicy quirk, lol. my friend who loves dry reds says it's a little sweet for her??
i used a wine conditioner and oak in the lambrusco.
i will check the beaujolais tonight, but i'm betting less than 1.000, so i will have to decide between those two for the dry red category?
i think i will enter the peach in the other fruit category and the blackberry in it's own category.

 

[ffemt128]

Good luck. Sounds like it could be alot of fun and you'll likely get some good comments about your wines.

 

[abefroman]

thanks for my well wishes
the lambrusco is 1.000
so this would go in the dry category? it's very smooth with on odd spicy quirk, lol. my friend who loves dry reds says it's a little sweet for her??
i used a wine conditioner and oak in the lambrusco.
i will check the beaujolais tonight, but i'm betting less than 1.000, so i will have to decide between those two for the dry red category?
i think i will enter the peach in the other fruit category and the blackberry in it's own category.

1.000 is sweet (the opposite of sweet is dry), its probably still fermenting unless you added sulphite.

I'd probably say enter the beaujolais, but it all depends, if the judges like a sweeter wine, then do the lambrusco, I take it they don't let you enter 2 in the same category.

 

[winemaker_3352]

1.000 is not a sweet wine - that is more around a semi-dry IMO.

 

[RedNeckWino]

I am doing a tart cherry to get into my first contest. The one I am going to enter is in august, and this competition does not allow 2 in the same category. I wish they did..... so many wines-so little time. I will try to enter a sweet cherry for a second category, and will stop there until I know more about competitions. Just trying to get my feet wet with this one.

 

[Jolly_Roger]

what town is it in? I live in Ky. might attend if it's not too far, although I have no wine ready to enter. Hope you win!

 

[Julie]

1.000 is not a sweet wine - that is more around a semi-dry IMO.

I agree Jon, I would say dry to semi-dry. A sweet wine is more in the range of 1.020 and up

 

[Wiz]

I miss the competitions. As a beekeeper in a former life I enjoyed the challenges that these competitions brought in both Maryland and Pennsylvania. Wish we had some for wine down here in the tropics.

 

[countrygirl]

what town is it in? I live in Ky. might attend if it's not too far, although I have no wine ready to enter. Hope you win!

it's in paducah, roger, at the pasta house company. entries due by the 11th and the awards the 16th or 18th?
i came home sick (sick sick) last night
so i didn't check the beaujolais.
i may take both and decide when i get there?
this is a different part of this adventure!

 

[Jolly_Roger]

it's in paducah, roger, at the pasta house company. entries due by the 11th and the awards the 16th or 18th?!

ok thanks, a bit far for me, good luck!

 

[Minnesotamaker]

It's always nice to get unbiased appraisals of your wines. You never know if friends and family are telling you the full truth. But when your wines are judged, they'll be next to other wines and you'll get some honest input.

Unless they're using professional wine judges, you'll need to take their comments with a grain of salt. I've gotten a score card with all zeros and a comment, "I've never really liked mullberry wine".

Other judges in the same competition provided more useful scores and comments though.