Wine Tributaries
by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner

     In dealing with wine, there are basically two approaches you can take with your sensory evaluation. One is subjective (intuitive or romantic) and the other is objective (reasoned or analytical).  Both points of view have merit, but seldom do they lead to the same conclusion. 

     The romantic, subjective approach is more superficial.  The way the label looks, the shape of the bottle, who made the wine, if it gets 90+ points in the Wine Spectator, all are incidental to the wine itself and have a great influence on the judging of the wine. In contrast, the analytical approach to wine judging pays little to no attention to the external matters and focuses instead on the underlying reasons for a wine's good or bad properties. 

     It was with this analytical approach that John and I entered the pavilion at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds to participate as judges for the amateur division (homemade wine) competition at this year’s Somoma County Harvest Fair.  As we entered the building, we could tell that there was going to be nothing romantic at all surrounding this tasting.  Eight foot tables we strategically placed around the room adorned with white tablecloths and high intensity lights at either end of the table. 

     After we checked in, we were issued our lab coats, ushered to our assigned seats, and given an orientation to the morning’s events.  At the end of the overview, the judging coordinator emphasized that this was the amateur division and not the professional wines division, and if in doubt, round up for a medal and not down.

     With that, we were off.  We had a very nice moderator who informed us that our first category was going to be Sauvignon Blanc.  There were 32 entries to judge and we would get them in a flight of ten and then two flights of eleven.  It is a very difficult proposition when you make white wine at home, because most white wines need to be temperature-controlled during fermentation. If a wine gets too hot, it will show a bit of a cooked character and lose its fruity aroma and flavor components.  We were impressed with the overall quality of the wines submitted, recognizing the difficulty producing them.

     For each wine we were given an 8x10 sheet of paper on which we commented on the color, aroma, bouquet, flavor, mouth feel, and finish of each wine. At the end of the brief analysis (twenty minutes maximum for each flight of ten wines), we would mark gold, silver, bronze, or no medal at the bottom of the page.

       Having finished all the wines in the flight, we would start with the first glass of wine and read the award we gave the wine to the moderator.  Due to varying palates, a wine that we may have loved and awarded a gold, another judge at the table may have really disliked that style and would give it no medal.  When this would occur, all the judges would pick up the wine sample and re-taste it, and then discuss why we awarded the wine what we did and what flaws we found to mark it down to a no medal. 

     Inevitably, we would reach an agreement and move on to the next wine.  It is best if there are an odd number 3, 5, and 7, of judges to break any ties. At our table we had four judges, and quite often when a wine would get 2 silver votes and 2 bronze votes, our table moderator would have to ask the judges giving the bronze if they could reconsider their vote and give it to a silver. As soon as we finished the medal discussion for the flight, volunteers from the SRJC viticulture classes, coordinated by Rich Thomas, would swoop in to clear the tasted wine glasses off the table, refill our water glasses, bread trays, empty our spittoons and within minutes we were ready to taste the next flight of wines in the category.

     After we tasted thirty-two Sauvignon Blancs, we started the Merlot category in the same fashion.  Forty-four Merlots later, we had started the inevitable process of staining our teeth purple. We followed that with a tasting of  twenty-two Cabernet Sauvignons from 1994 or older and finished with sixteen fortified ports.

     When all of the wines had been judged, all of the judges present (about 40 of us) were asked to judge the "sweepstakes" round. This is where all of the gold medals in the white category are judged against each other and all of the gold medal reds are compared to determine the best red and the best white in the competition When were done judging over 100 wines in 4 hours, we were carted out of the pavilion and treated to a big Italian feast of pasta, salad, bread, soda, ice tea, and coffee, but thankfully no wine.

     While the upcoming Sonoma County Harvest Fair’s focus is on the professional wines and wine-related products that are produced in Sonoma County, we know that some of tomorrow’s winemakers are working in garages, barns, and workshops today, already busy at producing wines that will be judged next year.

     In the meantime, besides just judging wine, the Harvest Fair also has many different categories of what we do best in Sonoma County. Breads, desserts, appetizers, fruit juices, menus, and even people get judged (including our mentor, Joe Vercelli, who was honored for his lifetime contributions to the Sonoma County wine industry). The first weekend in October is your chance to be a judge too; don’t miss it.

© 1999 by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner. All Rights Reserved. Wine Tributaries is hosted by Wines on the Internet.