Dec 8

Written by: Kristin
12/8/2008 10:51 AM

This past week I competed in the 4th Annual Wine Tasting Challenge. This is a crazy contest that attracts all of the local wine talent in the Toronto area. It is put on by CCOVI at Brock University (Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute) and takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel. Big sponsors include yours truly, B&W Wines.

The way it works:

You have 50 minutes to taste 7 wines blind, 3 VQA wines blind, and 3 spirits blind. At the end of this, you hazard a guess at varietal, country of origin, region, as well as vintage.

Prize values total over 100 grand, plus bragging rights. It goes without saying that all of the city’s top winos show up. During my exam alone, I recognized Zoltan Szabo, Paul Decampo from Henry of Pelham, Marlise Ponzo from Crush, Corey Ladouceur from the Granite Club, as well as three PhD students from CCOVI. That was just in the first hour time slot.

The wines tasted were released on the website www.winechallenge.com
How did I do? Well, I had high hopes going in, as those prizes were looking pretty sweet… However, I don’t think I’ll be bragging any time soon.
 
There’s always next year!
 
Cheers,
Kristin

Tags: