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DECANTED EVENINGS IN THE AMERICAN FINE WINE COMPETITION & GALA, SOUTH FLORIDA FINALLY GETS THE WINE EVENT IT’S DESERVED BY BOB HOSMON
As Americans in the 1980s began to appreciate wine and to enjoy it with
everyday meals and not just on special occasions, a whole culture of wine activities began to spring up that included wine festivals, tastings and organized dinners. Today, hundreds of such events occur in large cities and small towns and each has an audience that appreciates and participates in the experience. Yet, to my mind, few of those activities can match what will happen in South Florida this year with the coming of the American Fine Wine Competition & Gala. It all started in 2007 when three well-qualified wine insiders decided to launch a unique wine experience in which wineries from all over the United States would be invited to submit their wines for competitive judgment in South Florida. Shari Gherman, a well-known wine expert, together with Monty and Sara Preiser, publishers of the Preiser Key to Napa and the Preiser Key to Sonoma and part-time Napa residents, believed that South Florida, a major player in wine sales in the United States, deserved to be home to the competition they envisioned, and they were right. With support from many South Florida sponsors, including Patriot National Insurance Company as the lead sponsor and gold sponsor JM Lexus, the American Fine Wine Competition has become a “must do” event for wineries across the nation, and it’s all in our back yard. In 2012 more than 600 wineries submitted their wines for judging in the American Fine Wine Competition. Categories for judging ran the gamut, including examples of everything from Sauvignon Blanc to Red Rhone Blend and coming from not only California but from Washington State, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Long Island and the Finger Lakes District of New York. As the reputation of the competition grows from year to year, even more wines are expected to be submitted for the 2013 competition – including entries this year from the venerable Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (of 1976 “Judgment of Paris” fame). “It is true!” Gherman says, “but I must add that there will be more than 600 other wines competing for the Best of Class & Best of Show categories.” More than 20 highly qualified judges, including Master Sommelier Virginia Philip, Wine Director at The Breakers in Palm Beach; and Chip Cassidy, a professor of wine at Florida International University; taste without knowing the names of the individual wines, and the judges determine which of those wines deserve to be recognized. The award category starts at Bronze, a perfectly respectable recognition, then escalates to Silver or Gold, and culminating in a possible Double Gold. The wines that receive the highest awards are tasted again by class (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc.) to determine recipients of the Best of Class Award — then the highest award, Best of Show, is given to one red and one white wine in all the competition that the judges concur is the very best of the best. (For last year’s winners, see www.cityandshore.com/departments/winespirits/american-fine-wine-competition-results) If this has already gotten your interest, you, too, can be a part of the American Fine Wine Competition even before the Gala. On Feb. 5, there’s a cocktail party planned at American Social in Fort Lauderdale where the results will be announced and lots of wine will be poured; and a Wine Carnival and Consumer Challenge will be Feb. 21 at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, where you could enter the Consumer Challenge and win tickets to the Gala. The big event for the public, however, is the April 4 gala dinner at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, during which all the winning wines in the competition will be poured by servers who will be pouring two to four wines at each table every few minutes. (Not to worry; the servings will be small, allowing you to taste lots of wines throughout the dinner.) For more information and to purchase tickets for the public events sponsored by the American Fine Wine Competition, visit www.americanfinewinecompetition or call 561-504-VINE (8463).
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