June 24, 2008

Contest to feature wines from all over the world

"This competition gives wineries from all over the world and amateur winemakers the opportunity to show off their prized wines and have a chance to win a medal for all of their hard work," said Jeanette Merritt a Purdue University food science expert.

In addition to Indiana and other U.S. wines, there are more than 3,200 entries in this year's competition. Some of the countries entering wines include France, Korea, Chile, Japan and Australia.

During the competition, judges taste and evaluate the various wines. The contest is separated into two categories - amateur wines and commercial wines. To be considered for the commercial category, wines must be commercially licensed.

"When customers enter a winery and see a medal hanging around a particular wine bottle, they tend to gravitate towards that kind of wine because if it won a medal it must be a pretty good tasting wine," Merritt said.

Amateur wine entries also can earn medals, but many of the contestants enter to receive feedback from the judges about their wines, she said. All amateur entries in the contest receive notes from the judges. The comments can be beneficial because they let participants know what to improve on and what is already good about their wine.

After the judging, the public will be able to taste free samples of the medal-winning wines on Thursday and Friday (June 26 and 27) from 9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m. Visitors also will get an explanation of how the contest works, what the judges look for and a tour to see all of the wines.

Writer: Ashley Bechman, (765) 494-8402, aabechma@purdue.edu

Source: Jeanette Merritt, (765) 496-3482, jkmerritt@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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