Are Wine Competition Wine Medals Worth Anything?

Recently, I ran across an item on the internet about an article by Robert T. Hodgson in the Journal of Wine Economics, entitled "An Analysis of the Concordance Among 13 U.S. Wine Competitions." The Abstract reads:

"An analysis of over 4000 wines entered in 13 U.S. wine competitions shows little concordance among the venues in awarding Gold medals. Of the 2,440 wines entered in three competitions, 47 percent received Gold medals, but 84 percent of these same wines also received no award in another competition. Thus, many wines that are viewed as extraordinarily good at some competitions are viewed as below average at others. An analysis of the number of Gold medals received in multiple competitions indicates that the probability of winning a Gold medal at one competition is stochastically independent of the probability of receiving a Gold at another competition, indicating that winning a Gold medal is greatly influenced by chance alone."

This confirms my long-held belief that wine competition medals have little, if any, value except for advertising purposes. Years ago, winemakers would tell me that wine competitions were always "a crap shoot." A winery might get a Gold medal at one competition and no medals at another. It has been my experience as a judge at several competitions that the evaluation process is highly subjective. One time, I was at a table with Tom Stockley who liked a certain late harvest Riesling (which I found cloying) so much he wanted to give it a Gold. I dissented, but the table still ended up voting to give it a Gold. This is nothing at all like the kind of professional, objective evaluation that the U.C. Davis 20 point system entails (see my blog of 4 September, 2009). When you have a panel of judges making decisions based upon their own subjective impressions, the chance of a particular wine getting a Gold medal is almost completely random. Awarding Gold medals for wines might as well be based on an alignment of celestial objects.

Wine Crush In Full Swing at Robison Ranch Cellars

Yesterday, I received this email from Brad Riordan, the winemaker: "Well the proverbial you know what is about to hit the fan. I expect starting Tuesday we will get 2-3000# of fruit every morning thru Friday. Numbers are reaching the go point and Merlot, Sangio will start....I will post daily if not more often. BTW the Viognier is doing well."

Wine Tip of the Week

A few weeks ago, we had lunch with some out of town guests at T. Maccarone's in Walla Walla. On the wine list, I found Va Piano's Bruno's Blend V, so I ordered a bottle of it. It made a fine accompaniment to pasta and my Mac Burger. It's currently on sale at Esquin for $19 (regular $22).

N/V Va Piano Bruno's Blend V, Columbia Valley ($19-22)

This blend of 67% Syrah, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot offers a rich raspberry and plum nose with scents of brambles. The flavors are generous and spicy with a suave texture that spreads out in the back along with licorice and cola tones and extends into a ripe tannin finish.18/20 points.