Cellarmasters 40th

[dangerdave]

The Cellarmasters of LA web site says, "Medals and judging sheets will be sent via US mail after the January 9th Cellarmasters meeting."

 

[jswordy]

Got home tonight and was delighted to find my medals and judges' comments in the mailbox. Overall, the comments were very encouraging. I laughed heartily when I actually got dinged several points for having a "musky" taste to my muscadine wine!

I have to make some allowances, though, since they probably don't get to taste muscadine all that much out there and are highly attuned to viniferas. But seriously, the comments are going to be very, very helpful in my future winemaking. They are brief but educational. It looks like my wines scored mid-field for silver medal on average (17 of 18), which I think is pretty solid for a wine being tasted outside its native region by a longshot and a winemaker who never before entered a contest outside his own county.

I'll enter again. I await the impressions of some others as they come in...

Time for a glass to celebrate!

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

waiting for mine.

 

[jswordy]

One judge awarded my blueberry muscadine a perfect score. That was fun to see, that somebody that far away got the message.

 

[sour_grapes]

Hearty congratulations! That is great.

It looks like my wines scored mid-field for silver medal on average (17 of 18), which I think is pretty solid for a wine being tasted outside its native region by a longshot and a winemaker who never before entered a contest outside his own county.

I am not sure what that phrase means. I suspect you are making a modest-sounding statement, but I think clarity is getting lost in the modesty! What is 17 out of 18?

 

[vernsgal]

Congratulations guys!

 

[jswordy]

Hearty congratulations! That is great.



I am not sure what that phrase means. I suspect you are making a modest-sounding statement, but I think clarity is getting lost in the modesty! What is 17 out of 18?

The range for silver in the contest is 16-18 points. Gold is 18-20 points. Say you score an 18.25 averaged score for example - you are gold! There are three judges. They add up all their points totals and divide by 3 to get the average and that's your medal.

So I'm saying my wine was right in the middle of silver at an averaged 17 points. Except for the one outlier judge who gave my blueberry muscadine a top 20-point score, God bless her, my individual scores were all in the 16.5-17.5 range.

It was neat to know that one judge "got" the wine.

Still waiting for the others' results. I expect a lot will get their medals in the mail today and tomorrow.

 

[tonyt]

That's funny jim. I received the highest score that I have ever received from a single judge on one of my wines. Not the perfect score but it was a 19.5. That particular judge also made very helpful comments on both of the ones that I submitted. I just mailed off to the Missouri competition yesterday we'll see what they have to say. funny thing is on the same wine one judge gives me a high scoring gold and another judge gives me a low scoring Honorable Mention. Oh well.

 

[jswordy]

HA tonyt! I need to PM you her name when I get home and we'll see if it's the same person.

Like I said, one judge knocked off 3.5 points total because of "musky" taste in my muscadine wine. Uh, yeah! That's how they taste all right. LOL.

Did you medal in LA? If you did, let's hear about it!

 

[tonyt]

I got a bronze for MMR Nero d Avola and silver for RJS Cru Vapolicella. I was pleased but hate when a judge doesn't give any comments at as ll. Thats not helpful.

Sent from my SCH-i705 using Wine Making mobile app

 

[jswordy]

I had a blank sheet judge, too. I know they have a lot of forms to fill out, but the comments are really what I am after, moreso than awards.

 

[joeswine]

GOT MINE TO DAY,I WASNT HAPPY WITH THE PRIMARY RESULTS AND THE COMMENTS YET STILL ARE CONTRADICTORY UNTO THEMSELVES.
ON THE COFFEE PORT:
THE FIRST JUDE STATEMENT WAS THIS ,NOTHING==ON THE PAGE EXCEPT AT THE VERY BOTTOM,OVERALL QUALITY VERY ,VERY,VERY,NICE.
16/18 POINTS

THE SECOND JUDGE/ BEAUTIFUL DARKCHOLACTE COLOR,BURNT COFFEE NUANCE OVERPOWERS THE REST OF THE BOUQUET,BALANCE IS NICE, BODY AND TEXTURE VERY NICE BALANCE,(FINISH ) HARSH

NOW MY QUESTION IS THIS:

HOW CAN THE FINISH BE HARSH ,IF THE BALANCE IS NICE,BODY /TEXTURE IS VERY NICELY BALANCE.

SO IF THE WINE IS BALANCED IN SWEETNESS ,ACIDITY AND BITTERNESS????????
THE STATEMENT,WAS AS FOLLOWS:AS A PASSIONATE COFFEE DRINKER THE BURNT COFFEE NOSE FLAVOR SHOULD NOT HAVE OVERTAKEN YOUR PORT.
POINTS+12.5

THE LAST JUDGE WAS AT 14.5

I GUESS THAT'S HOW IT GOES ,BUT THERE'S ALWAYS THE NEXT ONE,SO ON THE COFFEE PORT SAME BATCH I'VE RECEIVED //A BEST OF SHOW/2 GOLDS AND A THIRD,GO FIGURE.........................IT'S ALL SUBJECTIVE ,,,,,,,,,,,I STILL DON'T LIKE THIRD PLACE.BUT THAT'S JUST ME.

 

[Crinton]

As promised, the judge's comments for my coffee port were:

Judge 1: coffee scent overpowers the wine. Would be nice to get some port in there. Finish is a bit astringent. Will mellow with age.

My thoughts: I agree with the scent/flavor. I don't see the astringency, since the port is very sweet. I also doubt it will mellow with age per Joe's comments that these ports don't change much with aging.

Judge 2: overroasted beans over powers nuance of coffee. Nicely made port but if made with roasted beans - should have state style. Would be good with dark chocolate.

My thoughts: This one confused me. I didn't use any coffee beans. I did use some oak cubes (highly recommended), but that was to tame some of the edges on the F-pack.

Judge 3: no comments except at the bottom: "loved it almost the best"

My thoughts: I love you too Judge #3.

Overall a silver medal. More importantly, my wife and I love the wine and don't have much left.

On my Cellar Craft Showcase Old Vine Zin, the judge variability was greater.
1: detected slight rubber, slightly cloudy (I did not filter), harsh finish, off balance
2: burnt rubber with floral component, tannic balance & finish
3: slight sulfurous note, velvet mouthfeel, fruit/oak/floral/leather

I don't detect the rubber, though can't disagree with it since 2 judges picked it up. I also don't see the tannins, since it is a kit wine.

This one was also a silver...and more importantly my wife & I have consumed most of it...

 

[Runningwolf]

Folks a few notes and my personal opinion from reading above.

1. port wine kits do get better as they age
2. Obviously wine tasting is very subjective. Along with many of you, I also have wines that took best of show in this very competition and others but then didn't even place in another competition.
3. The wine glass you're drinking from has everything to do with what the judges smell and you do not. I've made this mistake in the past and I just did it again this week. Making a blend for a new batch of wine, I was trying to match it as close as I could compared to last years. I had the taste and sweetness but not the aroma. Not even close. Then all of a sudden it hit me, my control (fresh bottle from last year) was in a different glass then my bench trials. When I made the adjustment I was right on. Same thing if you're doing a copper test you have to use all the exact same style and size of glass. Incidentally I always work with exactly 100 ml in each glass.
4. It sounds like the judges are judging wines made from kits as if they were made from scratch. Why wouldn't they if they are all in the same class? Maybe there should be different classes for kit wines.

All in All I think this is a great competition and very inexpensive to enter. You always have the option to enter Winemakers or the AWS competition at $25 for each entry.

Accept your ribbon and medals, you earned them. If the judges mention wine faults, take it serious they just might be on to something you did not detect. If you just didn't place and nothing really bad noted in the notes, try another competition and see what the results are if it's important to you. We all know the most important judge of all is our spouse, who supports our hobby. If they don't like it, forget about that extra carboy that you feel you really need.

 

[tonyt]

Very well said Dan Runnongwolf. Add that Callarmasters is a very tough competition and I for one am extremely happy and proud of all of our results.

Sent from my SCH-i705 using Wine Making mobile app

 

[dangerdave]

I did get my notes and medals in the mail. Unfortunately, I left for work this morning without them, so I'm unable to share right now. I'll give the notes for my gold and bronze medal winning wines tomorrow. Sorry for the delay. And thanks, guys, for sharing yours!

Gold Medal: Vintners Reserve World Vinyard German Muller-Thurgau (Rivaner) Kit. Aged about a year.
Bronze Medal: Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Juice Bucket from Luva Bella, infused with black currants and oak, and aged about six months.

 

[jswordy]

GOT MINE TO DAY,I WASNT HAPPY WITH THE PRIMARY RESULTS AND THE COMMENTS YET STILL ARE CONTRADICTORY UNTO THEMSELVES.
ON THE COFFEE PORT:
THE FIRST JUDE STATEMENT WAS THIS ,NOTHING==ON THE PAGE EXCEPT AT THE VERY BOTTOM,OVERALL QUALITY VERY ,VERY,VERY,NICE.
16/18 POINTS

THE SECOND JUDGE/ BEAUTIFUL DARKCHOLACTE COLOR,BURNT COFFEE NUANCE OVERPOWERS THE REST OF THE BOUQUET,BALANCE IS NICE, BODY AND TEXTURE VERY NICE BALANCE,(FINISH ) HARSH

NOW MY QUESTION IS THIS:

HOW CAN THE FINISH BE HARSH ,IF THE BALANCE IS NICE,BODY /TEXTURE IS VERY NICELY BALANCE.

SO IF THE WINE IS BALANCED IN SWEETNESS ,ACIDITY AND BITTERNESS????????
THE STATEMENT,WAS AS FOLLOWS:AS A PASSIONATE COFFEE DRINKER THE BURNT COFFEE NOSE FLAVOR SHOULD NOT HAVE OVERTAKEN YOUR PORT.
POINTS+12.5

THE LAST JUDGE WAS AT 14.5

I GUESS THAT'S HOW IT GOES ,BUT THERE'S ALWAYS THE NEXT ONE,SO ON THE COFFEE PORT SAME BATCH I'VE RECEIVED //A BEST OF SHOW/2 GOLDS AND A THIRD,GO FIGURE.........................IT'S ALL SUBJECTIVE ,,,,,,,,,,,I STILL DON'T LIKE THIRD PLACE.BUT THAT'S JUST ME.

I am sitting here reading this with a glass of your coffee port in hand, and wondering how you managed to wind up where you did with this wonderful wine. As you know, it's been in my Vinotemp a couple months. There is no harsh finish I can detect at all. My impressions are in the "Other People's Wines" thread. I am sure you will see different results as you progress through other competitions, Joe. This one was wrongly overlooked in LA!

As far as places go, a bronze medal still indicates the wine was superior to the field.

 

[jswordy]

Folks a few notes and my personal opinion from reading above.

1. port wine kits do get better as they age
2. Obviously wine tasting is very subjective. Along with many of you, I also have wines that took best of show in this very competition and others but then didn't even place in another competition.
3. The wine glass you're drinking from has everything to do with what the judges smell and you do not. I've made this mistake in the past and I just did it again this week. Making a blend for a new batch of wine, I was trying to match it as close as I could compared to last years. I had the taste and sweetness but not the aroma. Not even close. Then all of a sudden it hit me, my control (fresh bottle from last year) was in a different glass then my bench trials. When I made the adjustment I was right on. Same thing if you're doing a copper test you have to use all the exact same style and size of glass. Incidentally I always work with exactly 100 ml in each glass.
4. It sounds like the judges are judging wines made from kits as if they were made from scratch. Why wouldn't they if they are all in the same class? Maybe there should be different classes for kit wines.

All in All I think this is a great competition and very inexpensive to enter. You always have the option to enter Winemakers or the AWS competition at $25 for each entry.

Accept your ribbon and medals, you earned them. If the judges mention wine faults, take it serious they just might be on to something you did not detect. If you just didn't place and nothing really bad noted in the notes, try another competition and see what the results are if it's important to you. We all know the most important judge of all is our spouse, who supports our hobby. If they don't like it, forget about that extra carboy that you feel you really need.

This is very well said and I think it points out the value of a repeatable result, which is a good reason to enter the same wine in a few contests in various regions of the country. People have different experience levels with different wines regionally. I just took another sip of Joe's coffee port. Wow. But then, perhaps in California they are making a regional style in which coffee informs the wine and not defines it. The same wine might fare better in the Midwest, or Seattle.

 

[dangerdave]

I believe Joe already won a medal elsewhere for his coffee port. I, and a few others lucky enough to be nearby, loved it!

 

[jswordy]

I believe Joe already won a medal elsewhere for his coffee port. I, and a few others lucky enough to be nearby, loved it!

Yes, he says he's won a Best of Show, two golds and a third.