Ever wonder what it takes to be a wine judge — and how wine competitions actually work? Last week, two Wine Plus+ instructors, Rhys Pender MW and Sharon McLean, were part of the judging team at the National Wine Awards of Canada (NWACs), one of the country’s top wine competitions.
Behind every wine score or medal is a set of skills that goes far beyond simply liking a wine. Good wine judges need a trained palate, a strong memory for wine styles, an understanding of how wines are made, and the discipline to assess quality objectively and consistently — often across 60–90 wines in a day. It isn’t as easy — or as glamorous — as it might sound. It takes real discipline to taste the first and last wine of the day with the same focus and accuracy.
Judging also means separating personal preference from technical evaluation: assessing balance, intensity, complexity, typicity and overall quality in a clear, structured way, while putting aside your own biases and stylistic preferences.
This year at the NWACs, more than 1,800 wines were judged blind. Wines were organized into flights by variety or style, usually around 6–9 wines at a time, and assessed by panels of three judges in the early rounds. Each judge scored the wines independently before the panel discussed the results and worked toward a consensus. Over the first three days, judges tasted through all entries to identify the wines worthy of further consideration. In the final rounds, the top-scoring wines were re-tasted by larger panels of five judges to determine the silver, gold and platinum medals. As you can imagine, debate, opinion and passion all run high.
We’re proud that Rhys and Sharon were two of just 21 judges selected from across the country. It reflects the depth of tasting experience and wine knowledge they bring to the classroom.
With Wine Plus+ training, these are the same skills we help students build in our courses: how to taste systematically, describe wine accurately, understand style and quality, and develop the confidence to assess what’s in the glass with greater precision.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to deepen your expertise, learning how to evaluate wine like a professional can completely change the way you taste.
Explore upcoming Wine Plus+ courses here:
Cheers,
The Wine Plus+ Team