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Who do you think will win the Decanter World Wine Awards 2013? Yes, it’s a little early to be speculating, since it only opened for entries on January 2nd. But it’s always fun to try and guess who will enter and who will win. To those who are unfamiliar with the competition, the DWWA’s could be considered the Olympics of the wine world. To the wine enthusiast, the DWWA’s are simply the most exciting event of the year.
This is the tenth annual DWWA competition. As the most successful wine competition in the world, all wine enthusiasts should be familiar with it. Twelve new regional chairs have been appointed for 2013, and according to Decanter.com, “Sarah Kemp, Decanter publishing director and founder of the Decanter World Wine Awards said the roll call of judges and chairs is ‘simply the Who’s Who of the wine world’.”
Every year, over 47 different countries submit entries – 14,120 in last year’s competition alone. Out of the 9,901 medals awarded, 118 were trophies and 255 were gold medals. Tasted blind, grouped by region and price bracket, they are individually assessed, and a dedicated panel discusses the results. They are sorted by No Award, Commended, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The Regional Chair re-tastes all Silver and Gold wines; Silver wines are tasted twice, Gold, Regional and International Trophies up to four times. The wine tasting is done by over 200 judges from around the world, experts who hold titles such as Master of Wine and Master Sommelier.
As you see, it is an impressive and well-respected competition. Wine events such as Unsigned Talent at London International Wine Fair showcase the award-winning wines, and wine events such as the Awards Tasting Evening and Decanter Awards Presentation Dinner are held to announce and showcase award-winning wines to the public and to those in the wine trade. Such wine tasting events are a wine enthusiast’s dream.
Are there past entries – particularly past winners – that you enjoy or intend to try? Gaia Wines, who achieved three Gold medals last year, have several varieties we’re eager to taste. They are Assyrtiko By Gaia Wild Ferment; a dry white wine which has won a gold medal four years in a row, whose rich mouth fell and long finish are accented by slight citrus and oak aromas, Thalassitis; a dry, full-bodied white wine which has won a couple of gold medals and pairs well with seafood, and last but not least, Ritinitis Nobilis; a restyled Retsina that achieves a perfect balance between pine and grapes.
We look forward to seeing how many wine enthusiasts choose to utilize the Mobile Grape wine accessory at the wine events celebrating this competition and its winners. Allowing wine enthusiasts hands-free wine tasting, it would certainly be beneficial to and appreciated by those who do try it. Since the DWWA’s are held overseas, they’ve likely had less exposure to the Mobile Grape wine accessory, but we look forward to the coming years where the Mobile Grape is recognized by the wine community abroad as well as at home. Until then, we’ll still enjoy waiting to hear the results of the competition.