We don't normally bother publicising our show results, but after pressure from customers and restaurants, we thought we'd let you know we did pretty well at the Swan Regional Wine Show recently.
Our 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon received a gold, the 2013 Chardonnay a silver and the 2012 Shiraz a bronze. Three wines entered, three medals received.
We sometimes get asked why we enter the regional Swan Show rather than the Perth Hills Show. There are various reasons, but the main reason is because the Swan Show is bigger, with many more wines in our class, which makes the results much more meaningful. This means, for instance, our cabernet sauvignon is judged against other cabernets of that vintage; at the Perth Hills Show, it is lucky to find another cabernet to be judged against let alone one from the same vintage.
Which brings me to my second point - impartiality. While judges strive to judge the wine in the glass, not what they think is in the glass, it is often difficult to preserve this impartiality when only one producer in the region produces one particular style or variety of wine. For instance, the judge will be told the wine entry is a particular variety but when only one producer makes that variety it means the wine is no longer being judged blind, particularly when the judges are local and have a good knowledge of the local producers (as has been the case with the Perth Hills Show for the past few years). In our mind, shows which do not make an effort to randomise entries or ensure impartiality in judging have reduced or limited credibility.
It reinforces our belief that the Perth Hills and the Swan Valley shows should combine to create a more powerful single local wine show, with resources that can enable them to source reputable interstate or international judges.
For these reasons we continue to enter the local Swan Valley Show and not the Perth Hills Show even though it's almost twice the cost to enter and competition is fiercer with over three times the number of entries.
Our 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon received a gold, the 2013 Chardonnay a silver and the 2012 Shiraz a bronze. Three wines entered, three medals received.
We sometimes get asked why we enter the regional Swan Show rather than the Perth Hills Show. There are various reasons, but the main reason is because the Swan Show is bigger, with many more wines in our class, which makes the results much more meaningful. This means, for instance, our cabernet sauvignon is judged against other cabernets of that vintage; at the Perth Hills Show, it is lucky to find another cabernet to be judged against let alone one from the same vintage.
Which brings me to my second point - impartiality. While judges strive to judge the wine in the glass, not what they think is in the glass, it is often difficult to preserve this impartiality when only one producer in the region produces one particular style or variety of wine. For instance, the judge will be told the wine entry is a particular variety but when only one producer makes that variety it means the wine is no longer being judged blind, particularly when the judges are local and have a good knowledge of the local producers (as has been the case with the Perth Hills Show for the past few years). In our mind, shows which do not make an effort to randomise entries or ensure impartiality in judging have reduced or limited credibility.
It reinforces our belief that the Perth Hills and the Swan Valley shows should combine to create a more powerful single local wine show, with resources that can enable them to source reputable interstate or international judges.
For these reasons we continue to enter the local Swan Valley Show and not the Perth Hills Show even though it's almost twice the cost to enter and competition is fiercer with over three times the number of entries.
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