Sommeliers Choice Awards 2021 results to be announced soon

The 3rd edition of the annual Sommeliers Choice Awards to announce its Top 100 on-premise wines list soon.

The ultimate goal for a wine brand is to find a deserving spot in the on-premise spectrum. The Sommeliers Choice Awards gives on-premise buyers and sommeliers a valuable benchmark for understanding which wines would make a compelling addition to their wine lists.

2021 marks the third year of the competition and at this time, the Sommeliers Choice Awards has already made a mark in the industry. The event took place on May 16 in San Francisco, where industry professionals gathered to taste and judge some of the best wines from across the globe.

With a unique judging process and a strong panel of judges, the Sommeliers Choice Awards has become the go-to for wine brands to get a second opinion of their bottles.

The Judging Process

The main aim behind the Sommeliers Choice Awards judging process is to help wine brands and wineries gauge where they stand in the market, if consumers will enjoy the wine, and create a segue for brands to step into the on-premise sector.

The judging process is one that breaks the tradition and takes a step forward. Like most competitions, the emphasis is on the quality of the wine but the Sommeliers Choice Awards also judges wines on the basis of food pairing ability, typicity, quality, and value.

Here food pairing ability accounts for how well the wine pairs with different cuisines, dishes, and how versatile it is. The typicity of a wine measures how well it resonates with its origins and style. The quality of the wine is determined by its taste, body, and mouthfeel. The value is awarded based on the price of the wine, and if the quality does justice to its price tag. Lastly, the judges look at the packaging, keeping in mind that a consumers’ first interaction with a bottle is its packaging and label.

Medals are awarded to those wines that meet the judging criteria, with a goal of identifying wines that should become additions to restaurant wine lists. A wine that excels in all areas is deemed as an outstanding wine, likely to score between 96-100 points, with a Double Gold Medal win. Wines that are ranked between 90-95 receive a Gold Medal, while those scored within 80-89 are given a Silver. Those that are placed within the numbers of 70-79 are awarded a Bronze.

The Sommeliers Choice Awards also recognizes wines for a variety of different characteristics they portray. Wines that excel in all areas earn ‘special category awards’ like ‘Wine of the Year’, ‘Winery of the Year’, ‘White Wine of the Year by Glass’, ‘Best Package of the Year’ and many more.

Who are the judges?

The Sommeliers Choice Awards judging panel is highly acclaimed with the topmost tier of sommeliers, Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, wine buyers, and other wine experts coming from some of the best establishments across the country. These judges know the wines that are of great quality, and trade prices of each wine as they are judging each flight. The number one question that they attempt to answer as they judge wines is: “Would we stock this?”

The 2021 judging panel included judges from preeminent establishments like Heavy Restaurant Group, The Four Seasons, The Village Pub, Alexander’s Steakhouse, Press Restaurant in Napa, and spirits giant Pernod Ricard to name but a few.

Judges that take part in day-to-day wine choices at their establishments not only know which wines are good, but also know how well a wine will work at restaurants, bars, and stores, and what consumers like to drink.

This year, the Sommeliers Choice Awards was proud to witness 20 Master Sommeliers under one roof tasting wines.

Brett Davis MS - Master Sommelier and Sales and Education Manager at E. & J. Gallo Winery