Competitions and judging

Hey all,

I am a brewer, and have ventured only so far as to try "Apfelwien", with very good success in competitions... seeing as how I know next to nothing about the world of wine, I had a couple of questions...

1. Could "Apfelwein" be entered in wine competitions as "Dry Fruit (Other)" or some similar category? I never put the ABV higher than about 9.5%, so I didn't know if there was an understood minimum level for these types of things or anything...

2. Is there a centralized (at least for North America/USA) organization for teaching, certifying, and sanctioning wine competitions like the BJCP for beer? It seems like every competition has carte blanche to sort of define its styles and what the rules are... doesn't seem to be nearly the consistency as in the BJCP regimen.

That's all, I appreciate your input!

-MrI

A lot of wines are only ~10%, so your ABV is probably not an issue.

Other than that, I know nothing about competitions.

Thanks! I guess our winemaking members aren't nearly as into comps as the brewers?

I toss it into BJCP Category: 28D when I have some ready. Never get anything higher than a silver, but mostly bronze.

SourHopHead said:

I toss it into BJCP Category: 28D when I have some ready. Never get anything higher than a silver, but mostly bronze.

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You should put it in 28C, that's the actual "Applewine" category...

But yeah, I've done pretty well with mine at BJCP comps, but all the wine competitions I've looked at have been like reading Greek... all the categories and judging criteria look completely arbitrary to me, and I was just wondering if there was a standardizing organization for winemaking like there is for home brewing...

MrInternet said:

You should put it in 28C, that's the actual "Applewine" category...

But yeah, I've done pretty well with mine at BJCP comps, but all the wine competitions I've looked at have been like reading Greek... all the categories and judging criteria look completely arbitrary to me, and I was just wondering if there was a standardizing organization for winemaking like there is for home brewing...

Click to expand...

Yup you're right 28C. I do not know much about wine categories. We've gone to the winery a few times and they kinda explain it. Not much of a wine drinker anymore but still have a glass now and then.