Award Winning Wines - Should I care?

[Lil Ryan]

A friend bought me an "Award Winning Wine" for my birthday: 1997 Zinfindel from V Sattui of Sonoma. Right now, I'm not really buying into this award thing, but does it have any merit?

Ryan

[cpurvis]

LR, tutto dipende. Gold medal winners in major competitions aren't likely to be dogs, BUT they still may not suit your tastes. And who cares how many gold medal stickers are on the outside of a zin if you're lookin' fer big jammy stuff & ya get briars 'n pepper? Go with your tastes, or at least with those of someone you know has similar tastes.

As for the V. Sattui in your hand, "don't look a gift horse...", just pop that sucker open & give it a try. cp

[Bucko]

I judge in three competitions and love doing it. I have found exactly what cp says. Gold medal winners appeal to a wide range of palates, but are often wines that do not particulaly WOW you. WOW wines are often controversial and sadly may not even win a medal. Bottom line, trust your own palate! If at a loss, you can probably not go wrong picking up a medal winner. You know that it is most likely a sound wine.

Bucko

[Lil Ryan]

I'm certainly not looking the gift horse in the mouth (I appreciate anything I can get)! I'm just wondering whether they use these little gold stickers as a reason to jack up the price and peddle them off.

On the flip side, if I were to give someone a bottle, does a gold medal winner make for a more thoughtful gift?

[Innkeeper]

Yes, it provides a reason, but not all take advantage of it. Sometimes, in times of plenty particularly, producers are just happy to be able to move their stock. The abilty to jack the price is also tied to localle. A gold medal winner from Napa will fetch a lot more than a platinum medal from Yakima. You know which one I would go after.

The value of a gift is in the eyes of the giver primarily, and the receiver secondarily. The gift itself usually doesn't have eyes. It is what you think of the wine, not the medals on the bottle that determine the gift value.

[winoweenie]

Ik, you silver-tongued devil you. WW

[Thomas]

IK is not a silver tongued devil--he is a gold medal tongued devil.