In Search of the Most Noble: The Work of Professional Wine Judges
By Sandy Schumacher

This year’s judging panel, assembled from around the world, will arrive a few days before the summer Festival to begin our 32nd annual judging of Northwest wines. Their professional careers span disciplines from academia to winemaking and all are chosen from outside the Northwest in order to eliminate any hint of favoritism.

For 32 years, Seattle Wine Society members have benefited from the results of this competition which began in the early days of Washington’s winemaking industry and continues today, when Northwest wines are increasingly winning worldwide acclaim. The judges’ analyses are a guide for our members as they make tasting and buying decisions in a market exploding with possibilities.

We select judges with widely varying backgrounds, who are known for their experienced palates. Generally, each member of the judging panel has made significant contributions in one of these disciplines:
• Wine writing: someone able to explain tasting results to the consumer;
• Academia: an educator at the college or graduate level in viticulture or enology;
• Off-shore expertise: someone with experience working in wine, outside of the United States;
• Winemaking: a person who has produced wine and had an impact on the wine industry as a whole;
• Wine trade: a person experienced in the sale of wine to restaurants and wine shops, who understands evolving consumer tastes.

The judges have agreed to evaluate 210 entries which is the maximum number that can be effectively tasted and analyzed during the two-day period. The judges spend Wednesday and Thursday prior to the Festival tasting and evaluating wines. They do not see the bottles, only wine glasses containing 1.5 ounces of wine. Experienced Society members measure the temperatures, number the glasses and serve the judges who receive and evaluate the wines in separate booths.

A wine is evaluated on its individual merit, not ranked with other wines in the flight. Judges rely on their past tasting experiences as they compare these wines to others of that type in the world of wine.

In order to confer a Gold, Silver or Bronze award, our judges must reach a consensus of three out of the five votes. Moderator Gerry Warren tallies the results as judges announce their vote for each wine: no medal, Bronze, Silver or Gold. This precipitates discussion and debate but ultimately the final vote is taken and a show of three hands awards the medal.

Be the first to know which wines are the award-winners and whether we will have a Grand Award-winner this year (see sidebar). Will you agree? Disagree? One fact remains true: we all judge wines in our own ways with our personal tastes, and the results of our professional judging always ignites spirited debates and comments from the serious wine lovers in our midst. For we are all “in search of the noble”
and just when we find it … the search begins anew. Join us at the Wine Festival on August 5 and let your quest begin!

Our 2006 Festival Judges
Darrell F. Corti brings both national and international expertise to the Seattle Wine Society’s 2006 wine judging. Darrell is recognized as a master in the wine and food circles of the world. A second-generation Californian, he was a catalyst in the renaissance of Zinfandel and other wine varieties grown in Amador County, California. He regularly sits on tasting panels for regional, state, national and international wine judgings. Mr. Corti is a past board member of the American Institute of Wine and Food, an associate member of the American Society of Enologists, and a Compagnon de Bordeaux since 1966. In 1999, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Italian organization Slow Food. He is currently president of Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California, a renowned retailer of fine food and wine.

The purchase of a small vineyard in Coraccia, Italy, in 1987 began Peter Dipoli’s career as a viticulturalist and winemaker. Peter’s master’s degree in agriculture and his years as a researcher at the Instituto Sperimentale for the Alto Adige region provided the essential background that helped him become a successful vintner and the producer/exporter of Dipoli Wines. Mr. Dipoli is also a Principal of Fine Wines in Egna, Italy, a supplier of high quality wines to the restaurant trade, and he was among the first importers of fine New World wines for the Italian market. He is a past member of the tasting panel of the Grand Jury European and the founder and director of Giornate Altoatesine Del Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir Days). He is also in charge of the Concorso Nazionale Del Pinot Nero, an Italian Pinot Noir event. Mr. Dipoli brings both viticultural experience and a background in importing and exporting to our judging panel.

William Fuller’s long enological career began at the University of California, Davis, where he earned his master’s in food technology with a minor in enology. Bill spent nine years in Napa Valley with Louis Martini Winery but it was the purchase of 65 acres in Tualatin, Oregon, in 1973 that proved fortuitous both for him and for the Northwest. He was a founding partner and winemaker for Tualatin Vineyards in Forest Grove which won the Best of Show award in London in 1984 when their 1980 Pinot Noir and 1981 Chardonnay catapulted the emerging Oregon wine industry into a new realm of respect. In 1985, Robert Parker claimed: “Tualatin has excelled with white wine varietals, especially Chardonnay, which I feel is the best in Oregon.” Bill has served three terms as president of the Oregon Wine Growers Association and has also served on the board of the American Society of Enologists. We are all in his debt for his tireless advocacy of Oregon wines and his support of Northwest wines in general.

As a weekly wine writer for the Washington Times and a published author of two wine-related books, Paul Lukacs evaluates thousands of wines every year. He covers wine and winemaking around the world in an effort to bring forth the most relevant information for his readers, and he participates as a judge both in Europe and the United States. His vast tasting and judging experience provides exceptional credentials for our 2006 wine competition. Paul’s first book, “American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine,” won three major awards in 2001: the James Beard Foundation, Champagne Veuve Clicquot and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. “The Great Wines of America,” his next book, has been awarded a Gourmand prize and was a Book-of-the-Month Club featured selection. Paul serves as the Chair of the English Department of Loyola College in Maryland.

Our fifth judge is well known to those who read and savor the food, wine and travel writing in publications such as The Wine Enthusiast, Gourmet, Saveur, Wine and Spirits and The National Geographic Traveler. In her role as a wine and spirits authority, Marguerite Thomas writes a monthly column for the Los Angeles Times and is a photojournalist and travel editor for The Wine News. Since 1996, she has written the annual updated sections on the eastern United States for Hugh Johnson’s “Pocket Guide to Wines.” She also wrote the Eastern United States chapter for the “Global Encyclopedia of Wine.” She regularly conducts wine tastings and wine education seminars and is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, the Wine Media Guild, the New York Wine Press and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Wine & Dine With the Judges
Thursday, August 3, 2006
6:45 to 9:30 p.m.
Ray’s Boathouse
$75 (includes tax and tip)

Advance reservations are a must, as we have room for only 80 attendees. Send check, payable to Seattle Wine Society, c/o Kit Pomeroy, 10 E. Roanoke Street #9, Seattle WA 98102. Include full names of all attendees and each person’s entrée choice. Tickets will not be issued but confirmation can be provided by e-mail (please provide e-mail address). For reservations questions or other information contact Kit at 206-323-3553 or KitPomeroy@yahoo.com. (Credit cards, Visa or MasterCard only, may also be used. Please provide the following information: name on card, type of card, card number, expiration date, and cardholder’s phone number.)

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