This week the U.S. Open, America's most important golf tournament, will have the attention of sports writers, Tiger-watchers and golf lovers the world over. It's a big tournament and it always has been. Despite the existence of the Fed Ex cup, which is suppose to produce something like the final results for best golfer of the year, I think it's safe to say that winning the U.S. Open produces the greatest prestige for a golfer. Folks will be glued to their TV this weekend watching the U.S. Open.
So, where is the competition that would produce America's #1 wine?
There are many wine competitions across the country that judge single varieties, wines of a particular region, that associate themselves with state fairs, and those that have specific sorts of wine people doing the judging. But in my 20 years of working in the wine industry, there has never been any wine competition anywhere that was acknowledged as the most prestigious.
In a way, I think this circumstance is odd. Given that a competitive tasting between French and American wines back in the 1970s put American wine on the map, you'd think this alone would have provided the impetus to create something like a national competition that would be like the U.S. Open, America's most prestigious judging. But it didn't. It helped lead to a proliferation of competitions, none of which became the most important.
Wine Competitions are somewhat controversial within the industry. There are many philosophies as to how they ought to be run and what their results mean. For one, many of the most famous artisan wineries don't submit their wines for judging for the simple reason that they have nothing to gain and everything to lose be permitting the possibility that other much less expensive and lesser appreciated wines will wind up besting them. If I make a Syrah that consistently sells out on release and I get $60 for it, why would I even consider putting it in a competition where a $30 Syrah might best it?
There is also the inherent difficulty for the judges. Judging 200+ chardonnays in a sitting is a very difficult thing to do. At some point, many judges simply start reacting to the most expansive, biggest, palate smacking wines that come in front of them. Is that positive?
Still, I think that if it could be created, a national championship of wine would be a fun thing. I'm not sure it would be a good thing for the American wine consumer or the American wine industry, but it would be exciting if it could be organized and appreciated as a sort of national championship.
On the other hand, it wouldn't make for great TV.
