Press Release
Grand Harvest Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Merletti (800.535.5670 x105, jmerletti@vwm-online.com )
Joe Gargiulo (707.795.9400, joe@jagpublicrelations.com )
2010 Grand Harvest Awards:
Wine Competition Furthers Its Search for Terroir
Santa Rosa, California (March 2, 2010) -- Judging for the 2010 Grand Harvest Awards, an international wine competition produced by Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, completed its mission of recognizing outstanding wines from all over the world and simultaneously studying the effects of terroir on wine quality. Celebrating its 20th year, the Grand Harvest Awards was held February 24-26 at Sonoma Mountain Village, Rohnert Park, California. Complete results are posted at www.vwm-online.com/gha while a related article will be published in the May-June issue of the magazine.
Twenty-four judges evaluated over 1,400 entries and awarded a total of 1,027 medals including 141 gold, 426 silver and 461 bronze. Garnering medals at the Grand Harvest Awards has traditionally been difficult to achieve because of its high standards of excellence. Wine competitions are invaluable purchasing tools that help consumers choose from over 6,000 wineries in the US alone.
Most entries in the Grand Harvest Awards were grown and produced in the United States and Canada with some originating in Australia and New Zealand, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) and South Africa.
"The Grand Harvest Awards are a great forum for producers to have their wines evaluated by experienced judges in the context of their respective growing regions," said competition chairman Bill Traverso. "Wines from up-and-coming regions such as Nebraska and Florida garnered gold medals."
This year's Grand Harvest Awards presents a new promotional opportunity for wine producers: medal winners will be featured during March via a link on Food & Wine magazine's one-million-unique-visitors-per-month website (foodandwine.com).
The Judges
Selected for their familiarity with wines from specific growing regions, the judges represent some of the most qualified experts in the industry: food and beverage media, winemakers, wine marketers, enology and viticulture professors and researchers, restaurateurs and sommeliers, hospitality and tourism consultants, and fine wine retailers. Judges included George M. Tabor, author of Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine; Tim McNally, radio host of "The Wine Show", WIST 690 AM, New Orleans; Eric Degerman, managing editor of Wine Press Northwest; William S. Bloxsom-Carter, executive chef/food and beverage director of Playboy Mansion West; and Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation.
The Search for Terroir
The Grand Harvest Awards is the only North American wine competition that presents entries to judges according to regional classification. Wines of particular appellations are arranged in flights (mostly groups of 10) and evaluated by judges who are unaware of the geographic origin or producer, knowing only varietal name when relevant. In contrast, other competitions group wines by varietal name and suggested retail price.
Beyond the determination of medals, the Grand Harvest Awards also recognizes entries that best exemplify the terroir of their respective viticultural areas, and acknowledges the influence of terroir on wine quality. After evaluating each flight, judges frequently discuss their impressions in order to identify the signature elements of terroir and their link to regional typicity (wine characteristics that are common to particular growing regions).
While it is has no scientific definition, terroir is considered to be the combined expression of soil, climate, elevation and topography in the aroma, flavor and tactile sensations of wine beyond clone and rootstock selection, cultural practices, and winemaking techniques.
About the Producer
The Grand Harvest Awards is a division of Vineyard & Winery Services, the publisher of the leading independent wine trade publication Vineyard & Winery Management magazine (www.vwm-online.com ), Winedex (Wine Industry Index). Based in Santa Rosa, California, the multimedia corporation also produces seminars, conferences and trade shows (Wineries Unlimited, Tasting Room Profitability, Wine Club Summit, and Managing the Winery Laboratory) as well as two other wine competitions (International Eastern Wine Competition, and West Coast Wine Competition).
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Merletti (800.535.5670 x105, jmerletti@vwm-online.com)
2010 Grand Harvest Awards:
The Only North American Wine Judging Based on Terroir
Santa Rosa, California (November 23, 2009) -- Vineyard & Winery Management magazine announces the opening of online registration for its 20th Grand Harvest Awards wine competition and new promotional benefits for participating wineries. Registration is available at vwm-online.com/gha with an entry deadline of January 15, 2010. The judging will be held February 24 – 25, 2010 in Sonoma County, California. Phone 800.535.5670 x100 for additional information.
The 2010 Grand Harvest Awards (GHA) presents two new promotional opportunities for wine producers: medal winners will be featured during March via a link on Food & Wine magazine’s one-million-unique-visitors-per-month website (foodandwine.com), and organizers will disseminate a post-event press release to one media outlet of each entrant’s choice.
“GHA provides a one-of-a-kind forum for gauging the progress of vintners committed to making wines that are truly representative of their respective region,” said Robert Merletti, publisher of Vineyard & Winery Management. “The bar nudges a little higher every year because we perceive greater interest in terroir by winemakers, and learn more about the process by reviewing feedback from our judges.”
The competition boasts some of the best professional judges in the country with careers as wine journalists, authors, marketers, publicists, researchers, retailers, restaurateurs, sommeliers and winemakers.
“We select judges who have extensive understanding of regional wine characteristics, and focus on the national wine industry,” said GHA Chairman Bill Traverso, a veteran wine judge with over 35 years in the wine business.
This year’s team includes George M. Taber, author of Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionize Wine; Tim McNally, host of “The Wine Show”, WIST AM690, New Orleans; Eric Degerman, managing editor of Wine Press Northwest; Dr. Christian Butzke, associate professor of food science, Purdue University; William S. Bloxsom-Carter, executive chef and food & beverage director, Playboy Mansion West; Jeanne Burgess, vice president of winemaking operations, Seavin, Inc., Clermont, Florida; and Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation.
The competition traditionally draws entries from numerous U.S. and Canadian wine regions plus a few from Australia, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and South America.
The Search for Terroir
The Grand Harvest Awards is the only terroir-based international wine competition in North America. While other wine judgings categorize entries by varietal name and suggested retail price, GHA arranges them by appellation. Thus, with cross-regional competition removed, inherent quality can be perceived without the prejudicial influences that sometimes eclipse wines of even the highest quality.
Wines are judged in the context of their geographical origin to develop greater sensitivity toward the complexities and nuances of regional wine characteristics (“regional typicity”), and to measure the influence of regional growing conditions on the taste and quality of individual wines.
In addition to awarding medals, GHA is also committed to learning how terroir contributes to the excellence and distinctiveness of wines from a particular growing region. Over its 20-year history, judges have learned to recognize when terroir is — and is not — a factor of wine quality.
While it is has no textbook definition, terroir is considered to be the combined expression of climate, soil and topography in the aroma, flavor, structure and tactile components of wine. Some experts broaden the horizon to include the human influences of cultural practices, the selection of grape variety, clone and rootstock, and winemaking techniques.
Official sponsors are American AgCredit (agloan.com) and Sonoma Mountain Village (sonomamountainvillage.com), the competition venue.
About the producer
Vineyard & Winery Services Inc. publishes Vineyard & Winery Management magazine (vwm-online.com), Winedex (Wine Industry Index), and Wineries of the Index on compact disc. Based in Santa Rosa, California, the multimedia corporation also produces seminars, conferences and trade shows (Tasting Room Profitability, Wine Club Summit, and Managing the Winery Laboratory) as well as three wine competitions (Grand Harvest Awards, International Eastern Wine Competition, and West Coast Wine Competition).
###