Written by Gurvinder Bhatia | 16 September 2010

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Type “wine judge” into Google and a picture of a pint of beer just might appear. I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a judge on numerous occasions and in several countries. Copious amounts of beer are generally involved, but that’s not unusual in the wine industry.

My first international wine-judging gig was at Vinitaly in 2005. I arrived at my hotel in Verona about eight in the evening after having travelled halfway across the world. In my room was an invitation to a reception welcoming all the judges ... that was starting in 20 minutes. I quickly showered and made my way to the hotel’s grand lobby. As I walked around the room, the number of languages I heard being spoken was remarkable — clear evidence of the number of countries being represented. It took a while, but I finally heard some English and made my way over to say hello. It turned out to be the Scandinavians — a Finn, a Norwegian and a Swede. We seemed to hit it off (having cold-climate homes and a love of beer and hockey in common may have had something to do with that). The stunning multi-course dinner went on until just after midnight, as it often does at these sorts of events in Italy. Most people had arrived that day from various parts of the world and, with the judging to commence the next morning, most made their way back to their rooms. The Canadian and the Scandinavians, though, figured we needed to have a nightcap in Piazza Bra. The nightcap turned into a few and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the competition.

The judging itself is very hard work. Yes, I know, we are tasting lots of wine, meeting people from all over the world, enjoying great local cuisine, and experiencing the history and culture of so many wonderful places. But it really is hard work. Remember, during the actual judging process, we are not drinking and socializing. We are tasting anywhere from 70 to 150 wines per day, having to evaluate each one and attach a score that will ultimately contribute to which wines receive the coveted “medals.” There is a significant amount of responsibility involved.

At Vinitaly, almost 200 Italian and foreign winemaker judges and members of the media are gathered in a large room, each behind their own desk. The desks are all lined up perfectly in rows (a bit like a final exam in the gymnasium at university, except that wine is being served). Each row has a sommelier who pours the wines to be tasted. You judge the wines blind (you do not know what is being poured). You judge one at a time. You don’t talk with any of the other judges. You judge each wine in multiple categories, attach a score to each category, and total up the subscores to give the glass its overall score ... all in three minutes. And you do this for seven to eight hours a day for four days. They even have a prize for the judges who total all their sheets (several hundred) correctly (I was one of the recipients). Those who consistently had trouble with their addition faced scolding from the notario who was responsible for tabulating the results.