We are nearing the 2020 registration deadline for Sommeliers Choice Awards. This is a final call to winemakers, wine suppliers, and wine brands who are looking to grow their on-premise distribution in the year 2021, by getting their wine brands tasted and reviewed by the leading Master Sommeliers, Sommeliers, and on-premise restaurant buyers in the USA.

The goal of the Sommeliers Choice Awards is simple: to provide on-premise buyers and sommeliers a valuable benchmark for understanding which wines would make a compelling addition to a wine list.

If you are looking to sell more of your wines to the on-premise establishments such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and bars, then you need to enter the Sommeliers Choice Awards. Registrations will close on July 20, 2020.

Enter Now

Here are just few of the reasons to enter your wines in SCA.

1. Raise the profile of your wines

2. Get in front of a hard-to-reach audience

3. Get Scores Feedback

4. Technical Feedback

5. Relevant Judging Criteria For On-Premise Sector.

6. Winners To Get Unparalleled global reach via the BTN network. See Winning Impact For Further Details.

7. Give The Consumer A Sense and Stamp Of Approval.

8. Promote your award-winning wines

9. Benefits for medal winners

In some cases, a single Medal or Award will continue to benefit your wine sales for years to come.

Check out the impact of winning a 2020 SCA medal!

Winning Impact

The judging panel of the Sommeliers Choice Awards will consist entirely of top sommeliers, on-premise wine buyers and wine directors at U.S. restaurants, bars, pubs, and clubs. In order to be selected as a judge, sommeliers need to provide evidence of their expertise within the on-premise industry. In some cases, these sommeliers may also be wine consultants for on-premise establishments. They may also have a buying role in addition to working on the restaurant floor.

Medals will be awarded to those wines that meet very specific judging criteria, with a goal of identifying wines that should become additions to restaurant wine lists. Wines will be judged according to criteria such as how well they pair with food items in addition to their overall versatility. Highest marks will be awarded to wines that provide value for money at their respective price points. Judges know the trade prices of each wine as they are judging each flight. The number one question that sommeliers will be attempting to answer as they judge wines is: “Would we stock this?”. Enter your wines now. Submission deadline is July 20, 2020.

Judging criteria

The judging panel of the Sommeliers Choice Awards will consist entirely of top sommeliers, wine directors and on-premise buyers at U.S. restaurants, bars, pubs, and clubs. In some cases, these sommeliers may also be wine consultants for on-premise establishments. They may also have a buying role in addition to working on the restaurant floor.

Medals will be awarded to those wines that meet very specific judging criteria, with a goal of identifying wines that should become additions to restaurant wine lists. Wines will be judged by Food Parability, Typicity, Value, Quality, and Package.

Meet Our Judges

Scoring system

The top two questions that sommeliers will be attempting to answer as they judge wines is: “Would we stock this?” and "Will the consumer buy the 2nd glass".

F (Food Parability Score) + T (Typicity Score) + Q (Quality Score) + Value Score (V) + Package Score (P) = Sommeliers Choice Awards Final Score.

Food parability

Food Parability of a wine is measured based on the variety of dishes that wine can be paired with instead of just one or two.

Typicity 

Typicity is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins and thus demonstrates the signature characteristics of the grape from which it was produced, e.g., how much a Merlot wine “tastes like a Merlot”. It is an important component in judging wine competition when wines of the same variety are judged against each other.

Quality

Quality will be assessed based on how agreeable the wine is for its target customer and chemical analysis. SCA will measure quality by Appearance, Aroma, Body, Taste and Aftertaste.

Value

Value in this context means how well the wine is priced based on its quality. Judges will blind taste and write what they think should be the cost on which they will buy the wines and is fair. If they think it offers excellent value, the score should be close to 100 and if they think it should be priced lower, then the score should be low. The metric to be used here is the on-premise price vs quality.

Packaging

Packaging will be measured by how well judges think the wine will be perceived by the consumer. The package will be judged for the On-Premise market considering factors like label design and information, closure, and overall look. This does not involve boxes, cartons and bags. It is how they think the product will be perceived when placed on a wine shelf amongst thousands of other wines.

A separate weighted score will be given for each of the parts of the judging process. The scores will be added up to give a final score from which individual prizes will be awarded.

Double Gold – 96 points and above
Gold – 90-95 points
Silver – 80-89 points
Bronze – 70-79 points

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Sommeliers Choice Awards gathers the top restaurant wine buyers, Master Sommeliers, wine directors who have a direct influence on the US on-premise market.

Put your wines in front of them and get rated by Food Parability, Typicity, Value, Quality, and Package.

If you're looking to get in front of the top sommeliers and on-premise wine buyers of the USA, now is the best time to enter your wines.

SCA Entry Process & Fees

Deadline For Submission Is Approaching Fast.

Leading wine brands from around the world now have an opportunity to grow their business and gain the attention of wine buyers, wine directors and influencers within the U.S. on-premise industry. Time to submit your wines in the 2020 Sommeliers Choice Awards.