We all live for fashion, one way or another. Whether it be the clothes you wear, the places you go, the decor of your home, your savvy sports-car or the wine you drink. Chateaux Petrus, Dom Perignon and  Grange, have become the Gucci, Prada and Louis Vitton of the vino-world. And when a certain bottle is glamorised with some shiny, gold stickers, it is generally considered a good investment.

So when set with the task to buy wine, these ‘golden globes’ have made it a lot easier to choose – because most of the time we just trust the senses of others more than our own. Let’s be honest, when faced with a shelve sporting brands from anywhere remotely suitable to plant vines and names becoming more and more exotic, it can be a rather intimidating task to find what you are looking for.

Wine judges have a very difficult and important task at hand – to taste hundreds of wines in a short period of time and carry the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of winemakers and cellar workers on their shoulders, by trying to successfully separate the cream of the crop. Years of training and practicing will put you at the best of your game, but the results are often still subject to a variety of influential factors, which ultimately results in human error – proving the results not all that reliable. The order in which the wines are lined up, the perfume (or lack thereof) of the person sitting next to you and even the mood you find yourself in, will all have a visible effect on how you score a wine.

An award winning wine may not even be everybody’s cup of tea – especially if you are actually looking for something to have at a braai tonight. Your average wine drinker, when faced with infinite possibilities, will probably go for an old faithful – brands you know and trust. Villiera and Fairview are two of my personal favourites. And why not buy what you like? The proof is in the pudding. Because it doesn’t really matter how much bling the bottle has, it is the wine that you are after and you have to learn to trust your own taste!

On a cold winter’s evening after a food and wine bonanza, a heap of empty bottles the sign of a successful night. As the last five standing, we found ourselves huddled around the fire, sipping wine and discussing everything from fashion to wine politics. The perfectly designed labelled bottles have been replaced by tank samples of unknown red wine and no-one seemed to mind that no catchy brand name, clever label or gold sticker was to be seen anywhere – because at the end of the day, it is just a bottle of wine shared between some friends.

Ek is amptelik ‘n sucker vir die eiendomsmark. Daar is niks vir my so interessant soos om ryk-ryk te speel en eiendomsagente te bel as ek ‘n Pam Golding of Seeff bordjie sien by wat lyk na ‘n goeie Sunday drive-kopie nie – of dit nou in Kampsbaai of Kuilsrivier is.

Net so sal ek nie sommer verby die eiendomsaasvoëls se kantore stap sonder om te stop vir ‘n paar minute se window shopping nie. Dit was ook die geval toe ek Saterdagmiddag verby Coetzenburg Eiendomme in Stellenbosch gestap het. Die dorp was vol Algeriërs – wat die Eikestad gekies het as basis voor die sokkerwedstryd teen Engeland – terwyl daar ook heelwat Duitsers, Nederlanders en nou en dan ‘n verlore Pommie die meeste gemaak het van die wintersonnetjie.

Mens sou verwag dat Coetzenburg Eiendomme sal skep terwyl die ingevoerde pap dik is deur die ponde en euros wat die rondte doen te teiken in sy vensteraanbiedinge. Maar tot my groot verbasing was al die advertensies, wat in straat vertoon is, gemik op Suid-Afrikaners – in Afrikaans!

Ook by die sokker self (ek het saam met Spier die wedstryd tussen Uruguay en Frankryk gaan kyk) was die Taal so algemeen soos by enige Nuweland-toets – tesame met Suid-Afrikaanse Ingels.

En wat is die relevansie hiervan vir ‘n wynblog? Daar is ‘n les te leer oor die waarde van die  veelbesproke plaaslike mark. As Coetzenburg Eiendomme dit goeddink om ten spyte van die groot buitelandse teenwoordigheid, steeds die Suid-Afrikaanse mark te teiken, hoekom is die wynbedryf se aanslag juis andersom? Selfs Fifa slaan dan munt uit die locals – Rand-munte, nie dollars of ponde nie.

By ‘n onlangse Kaapse Wynmakers Gilde proe by Jordan, het Simonsig se Johan Malan (die gilde se voorsitter) vertel dat sowat 15% van die KWG se totale verkope vir die buiteland bestem is. Ons praat hier van ‘n veiling wat ten spyte van minder gunstige marktoestande jaarliks groei. Groei met plaaslike geld, plaaslike verbruik in die hoogste prysklas.

In teenstelling hiermee, toon Sawis se syfers – wat natuurlik dui op volumes en nie waarde nie – al vir ‘n geruime tyd dat die plaaslike mark of sak of onveranderd bly.

Is dit oor die plaaslike mark sy piek bereik het of oor daar niemand is wat namens die bedryf die moeite doen om uit te vind nie? En soos dinge nou voortsloer, gaan hierdie nie gou verander nie… Want niemand het skynbaar die tyd, geld of sokkerballe om die generiese bemarkingvraagstuk aan te pak nie.

Die konsep van elkeen bring ‘n bottel wyn om te proe en dra iets by tot die ete na die tyd, is seker niks meer as ‘n glorified bring en braai nie. Maar dít is hoe die meeste wynklubs begin en – soos wat die nuutste toevoegings tot die elite Kaapse Wynmeesters wys – kan hierdie ook ʼn ernstige affêre raak…

Die vier nuwe Kaapse Wynmeesters behoort almal aan die Wild Yeasts wynproeklub in Johannesburg en het ook deur hierdie klub se snuif-smaak-spoeg-sessies heelwat van hul wynkennis opgedoen.

Dit beteken egter nie dat alle bottelbendes so ʼn prestige gedoente is nie – en dis ook net goed so! Ek behoort aan vier verskillende proeklubs – wat wissel van tegniese proegroepe tot onpretensieuse kuierklubs.

Quatro Hombre – wat in Spaans “vier manne” beteken – is ʼn goeie voorbeeld van hoe ʼn laatnag braaibreingolf kan verander in ʼn heel gevorderde proeklub. Ek en drie van my varsity pelle het elkeen ‘n menéér van ʼn wyn na ʼn kuier gebring, kort nadat van hulle teruggekom het van parse in Amerika en Frankryk.

Nodeloos om te sê, het hierdie groot wyn aande ʼn gereelde en later formele gewoonte geraak – en vandag is van sommeliers tot vatsmouse lede van die Quatro Hombre groep.

Een van die ander proeklubs het nie eintlik veel gevorder sedert die aanvanklike braaibreingolf nie… Dié sosiale drink-met-‘n-doel-klub heet Klap Vino en is gebaseer op die plaas Stonewall, waar daar ʼn baie interessante spul jong musikante hulself tuisgemaak het.

Daar word gewoonlik ʼn spesifieke kultivar of wynstyl geproe en die klub se sekretaresse se korrespondensie vind slegs in gedigvorm plaas. Wyn is die tema, maar hier gaan Pinotage gewoonlik vinnig oor in poësie en word die kitare gewoonlik soms vóór die laaste wyn al nadergetrek …

En hoekom nie? Wyn word al vir eeue met die kunste vereenselwig en enigiets wat ʼn kreatiewe wynkultuur bevorder, is in my boekies ʼn stap vorentoe.

Daar is ook heelwat voorbeelde van wynklubs waar wyn net halfpad die sentrale tema is – soos die Single Vineyards. By hierdie “wynklub” hoop enkellopendes om van enkelkultivars na versnitte te verander so tussen die proeëry deur.

Dan is daar ook die Wyn Gooste, wat bestaan uit van die henne in die bedryf. Uit die aard van die saak het ek nog nie een van hierdie teelose teaparties bygewoon nie, maar ek kan dink dat mens hier selfs meer leer van die bedryf se sondes en skandes as op winegoggle!

Of jy nou ʼn opsoek is na ʼn slukkie Chateau Lewensmaat, die eerste stap wil neem na Kaapse Wynmeesterskap, of dalk in die Pinotage poësie game is, join the (tasting) club.     

Veral die heel laaste deel van dié stelling slaan die spyker op die kop. Hierdie bedryf se ménse – karakters – is ook wat my in ‘n skrywers-hoedanigheid gereeld selfs meer inspireer as die produk self.

Ek het onlangs twee sulke karakters, regte unsung heroes, ontmoet op Hartenberg – toe ek doelbewus ‘n halfuur vroeg opgedaag het vir ‘n afspraak met wynmaker, Carl Schultz. Sulke strategiese halfuurtjies is waardevolle proetyd en ‘n geleentheid vir my gunsteling tydverdryf: mense dophou.

Nou, Hartenberg se proelokaal is nie een van daardie flashy tipes wat blink van die (meestal buitelandse) pitte nie – jy kan maar sit en tuis voel. En dit is presies wat die Duitse groep, wat al diep in die wynlys af was, gedoen het.

Op die oog af, was die vrou wat hulle proe aangebied het een van daardie proelokaal tannies wat jou alles van die jaar toet af kan vertel – toe Hárslevelü, Clairette Blanche en Hermitage nog die glase gevul het. Die Ingels is steeds nog nie so knap nie, maar dat sy so eg Bolands soos Pinotage is, sal niemand oor kan stry nie. En dít dra by tot die Hartenberg-ervaring.

Issa, wat my proe aangebied het, voeg egter ‘n heel ander element by en gee skoon nuwe spice aan Hartenberg se reeds indrukwekkende Shiraz. Mens kan aan sy gelaatstrekke en aksent sien en hoor hy is nie van dié geweste nie en met bietjie aansporing, het hy die storie van sy pad na die Bottelary heuwels so tussendeur die Chardonnay en Riesling begin vertel.

Issa

Hy vertel dat hy grootgeword het in Malawi, waar sy pa ‘n klein restaurantjie besit het. Die hele gesin het handbygedra tot hierdie familieonderneming en kos – vernaamlik sterkgekruide visgeregte – was deel van sy kinderdae.

Na sy pa se dood het hy Suid-Afrika toe getrek, waar hy uiteindelik by ‘n sjefskool in Durban – die land se kerrie hoofstad – terug na sy wortels gekeer het.

‘n Onmiddellike liefde vir wyn het hom gelei na die Kaap, waar hy in 2001 ‘n pars by Lievland voltooi het. Sy forté was egter steeds gasvryheid, die geselligheid en spice van ‘n Afrika kombuis. En dit is iets wat hy kon uitleef in ‘n proelokaal – eers by Lievland en later by Hartenberg.

Sy proeë bestaan nie net uit “die volgende heerlike wyn is ’n Cabernet Sauvignon” praatjies nie, maar draai rondom geure, kos en vergelykings. Sodra hy agterkom jy weet meer as die verskil tussen wit- en rooiwyn, skop ‘n verbasende tegniese kennis in. Hoeveel proelokaal personeel weet byvoorbeeld met watter soort gis die verskillende wyn gefermenteer word?

Dis nie verbasend dat die aromatiese nommers – Shiraz en Riesling – sy gunsteling wyne is nie. En as mens hom ‘n halwe kans gee, sal hy begin liries raak oor saam met watter kos hy dit sal bedien.

Veral Hartenberg se Shiraz is in hierdie opsig baie veelsydig. Maar as jy my vra, werk dit die beste saam met waterblommetjiebredie met ‘n knippie Afrika spice.

With Chardonnay being the greatest non-aromatic white wine grape in the world, according to The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, and styles ranging from lightly sparkling to heavily wooded, it is no wonder that we have put the consumers in the dark.

The phenomenon of the ABC-club (anything but Chardonnay), which started as a response to overly oaked, over aged, buttery Chardonnays of inferior quality served by the glass in London pubs about a decade ago, has since been proved wrong – but plenty of consumers still steer clear of this noble grape.

The average wine drinker in mind and with the recent boom of wood-infused Pinotage wines, aka Bertus-Starbucks-Fourie, it is clear that wood can be a valuable tool when it comes to pleasing your buyer. But this being said, your average wine drinker usually prefers an accessible wine with fruit driven, balanced flavours. However, with the cries of the ABC-club members in the background, most South African producers follow the oaky road for Chardonnay.

Wine in wood or wood in wine? There is a growing trend towards less wooded and unwooded Chardonnay.

With wine shows and competitions being held almost every second week of the year, it has also become clear that the wine ‘fundi’ prefers a fuller bodied, usually oaked Chardonnay. Just take the 2010 edition of the Platter’s guide for example. Wooded Chardonnays scored three 5 stars, thirty 4½ stars and a whopping seventy nine 4 stars, while unwooded Chardonnays only earned nine 4 stars. Without getting into too much detail, it is clear that, even though fewer unwooded Chardonnays are being produced, the barrelled versions are usually rated better than their more fruit driven, and sometimes more interesting, counterparts.

Similarly, at the recent Chardonnay du Monde, it seems that the world is abiding the unwooded Chardonnay trend, with only 35 of the 65 gold medallists throughout the world being wooded, while South Africa had 11 wooded wines in total out of the 15 that received medals.

Some South African producers have, however, jumped on the bandwagon going down the road less travelled, by making an unwooded Chardonnay. And with production costs being sliced by taking out the French-factor, the equally high in quality, unwooded wines are flying off the shelves and out of the cellar. Even though wooded Chardonnays have a very big role to play in the industry and are often of notable quality, isn’t it time that more also wander down that path and listen to the consumer more attentively?

On the other side of the wine rack stands the ever-green, ever-popular Sauvignon Blanc. This Bordeaux variety has taken the world by storm and the dutiful consumers have followed suit. Usually unwooded, this version of the cultivar reaped four 5 stars, thirty eight 4½ stars and ninety nine 4 stars in the 2010 Platter’s guide. Being a clear favourite of ‘fundis’ and ‘followers’ alike, a misconception have however occurred where consumers only want the youngest vintages available. As soon as the bulk of the 2010 Sauvignon’s hit the shelves, most ordinary wine drinkers will skip over the ‘09s and rather get a ‘fresh and zesty’ one.

 At the recent Constantia Fresh Sauvignon Blanc festival held at Buitenverwachting, producers took the opportunity to showcase some of their best older and well-kept vintages, ranging as far back as 2001. A good quality Sauvignon kept at the right conditions, will overpower many of the 2010 newcomers with the elegance, complexity and depth of flavour that only develop with age. Whether it is from a windswept area in Elgin or on a south facing slope in Stellenbosch, good quality grapes and a knowledgeable winemaker can pair up to make Sauvignons best kept back a couple of years.

Although this subject has become a ‘silent’ buzzword in wine circles, the average consumer buying his wine to drink tonight is unaware of this well hidden secret that prevents the heartburn. Well known winemakers and especially Sauvignon producers also recommend laying the wines down for a year or more, so that the softer, rounder side of the wine can be experienced. When Miles Mossop from Tokara recently raved about a 2001 Iona Sauvignon Blanc, I realised that this is not just all talk.

With Sauvignon-loving consumers usually preferring a fresh, crisp wine, but without the sometimes cruel and harsh acidity that accompanies a lot of the more ‘affordable’ bottles, should they not rather stick to an unwooded Chardonnay, with less overpowering acidy at a similar price point? Just so, with a Chardonnay-fan who prefers something more complex and in-depth but just can’t get past the oakiness that sometimes interferes, should they not try their luck at an elderly, well-rounded Sauvignon Blanc?

The reaction one gets when being introduced as a South African, always intrigues me. Our taxi driver – probably the most jovial chap in all of Germany – exploded with excitement and started repeating: “Fußball 2010, Soccer, Cup, Ja!”, while the receptionist at my hotel started telling me about the animals at the Stuttgart zoo!

Most of the winos at Intervitis were surprisingly knowledgeable about Wein aus Südafrika and many of them tasted what South Africa is capable of at Düsseldorf a week earlier.

Messe-Stuttgart’s director of communication, Thomas Brandl, regularly visits the Cape and regards Chenin Blanc as a key variety in the future of South African wine. His favourite SA wine is Kleine Zalze’s Family Reserve Chenin – even though he generally doesn’t like oaked whites. “I find that South African Chenins are big enough to stand up to oak, which can very often dominate other varietals, like Chardonnay,” adds Brandl.

A Chenin man - Thomas Brandl

My Chilean travel partner and fellow “Southern Hemisphere ambassador” at Intervitis – editor of Vitis Magazine, Eduardo Rocagliolo – thinks of Pinotage when South Africa is mentioned. And he’s not particularly fond of the variety …

“There are probably some good Pinotages, but this should not be South Africa’s flagship. It lacks elegance.”

Anything but Pinotage, please. Chilean wine writer, Eduardo Roncagliolo

The surprise of the visit was, however, OIV President, Ives Bernard’s taste for South African MMC’s. Bernard resides in Champagne and is a living legend in the home of bubbles. He was the Chief of Production at Moët Hennessy and has tasted sparkling wine around the world. Bernard also played a key role in organising a MCC tasting in Champagne in 2009 – confirming that the MCC-boom is much more than a flavour of the week.   

Although a nod of approval from a big gun is fantastic, it’s the man on the street that eventually buys the wine – and pays the industry’s bills.  

An old timer at a traditional German restaurant in one of the small villages outside Stuttgart came to my table when he heard “Südafrika” and spontaneously said: “Danie de Wet sehr guter Mann!” and then left without another word!

Germany is now the world’s biggest imported of wine. With South African sales also steadily increasing, the word on the street regarding South African wein (and pub crawling) is generally sehr gut. Prost!

Ek is van Maandag middag af in Waldenbuch – ʼn pragtige klein dorpie, naby aan die Messe – en het die meeste van die afgelope twee dae gemaak om die gebied, sy mense, sy kos, sy bier en natuurlik sy wyn te ontdek.

Die pragtige dorpie, Waldenbuch.

Op die rak

As ek in ʼn ander land is, kan ek nie anders as om eerste ding by ʼn drankwinkel aan te doen nie – om te kyk watter Suid-Afrikaanse wyn in voorraad is, natuurlik. Ek was veral nuuskierig wat op die Duitse rakke gaan wees, aangesien hulle deesdae liters en liters se grootmaatwyn invoer. (Sawis se grootmaat syfers fassineer my meer as die aandelemark …)

Waldenbuch is naby aan die Württemberg wynstreek, maar ook net-net te ver om werklik ‘n wynkultuur te hê – amper iets soos Piketberg. Die verteenwoordiging van Suid-Afrikaanse wyn het my onder omstandighede eintlik nogal beïndruk – maar ook net soveel verbaas. Hier is nie ʼn drankwinkel nie, maar hulle verkoop wyn by ʼn kettingwinkel groep, Binder, wat weer kan vergelyk word met iets soos ʼn Seven Eleven.

Waar die Walenbuchers hul Suid-Afrikaanse wyn koop

Die wyne wat die Suid-Afrikaanse vlag in Waldenbuch moet laat wapper is Drostdy-Hof – wat ek kan glo maklik op die Duitse tong val – se Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc en Chardonnay, sowel as Bergsig Pinotage 2005 en twee nommers wat ek nog nie op eie bodem teëgekom het nie: Lion’s Pride Reserve 2008 en Ruyter’s Bin Merlot.

Hierdie wyne moet hul man staan tussen kompetisie van Duitsland (uit die aard van die saak die meerderheid van die beskikbare wyn), Frankryk, Italië en Australië. En ek kan met trots sê dat ons gatskop onder die nuwewêreld lande.

Die oesjaar van die Bersig is dalk bietjie aan die ou kant, maar is darem nie rede om skaam te wees nie. Wat die Leeu Meneer betref, het nie sy WO (Western Cape) of rugetiket (“Highly rated category of modern Cape Blends”) vir my leidrade gegee van wat dit is of wie dit maak nie.

‘n Vinnige Google navorsingsessie het wel gewys dat die wyn ook verkoop word op verskeie aanlyn “Weinshops”. Kom ons hoop maar die leeu wapper ook die vlag vir Südafrika. Dit lyk gelukkig asof leeus mode is in Wurttemberg – sien die nuutste labrador modesnit…  

'n Duitse leeu

Wine is a completely different ball game though. As a living product, if it’s past its time, it’s, well… dead. Sales of discounted bottles merchandised in half-barrels at tasting rooms are a common sight during the December holidays – and usually rid cellars of “last season’s” coppery rosés and past their time cheap and cheeries, at ridiculous prices (think Mooiberg Farmstall). But if you’ve missed the boat when the rosé was still pink – and sold for more than R12 – you’re basically just covering the cost of the bottle and the matching bright screwcap.

Getting the numbers right and predicting just how much of what should be produced, is probably one of the trickiest parts of business – especially if you’re working with a perishable product. Just like in the world of fashion, it comes down to a game of trends …

South Africa, for instance, completely missed the take off of the Pinot Gris boom – while the Yanks and Italians laughed all the way to the bank. To a lesser extent, the same happened with rosé. Having only surfed the latter part of this wave, there were countless cellars that sat with stock after big orders fell through – probably because the Brits had a gloomy summer.

Unlike with fashion, wine has a far longer and more complicated cycle. If Hárslevelü is the next big thing, you can’t plant a few hectares tomorrow and take the market by storm this Easter Weekend. Nope, it takes about six years – and by then sweet Pinotage might by a hit!

The guys that have to be more on top of trends than even wine marketers are the ones that produce the plant material. They have to source grafting material even long before the decision is taken to plant new vines – and to make it even harder, the rootstock and clone combination also becomes part of the equation.

 A day at the Hemel and Aarde farm of South Africa’s biggest vine nursery, Lelienfontein, revealed some very interesting predictions… “We do a follow-up for every vine that we sell. When you’re in the specialist field like us, you naturally have an ear on the ground,” explains vine marketer Marco Blom.

He explains that because margins on every drinking wine are becoming extremely narrow, producers can’t afford to sustain marginal blocks. A vineyard either needs to fetch prices that justify lower yields, or it needs to produce enough grapes to make a reasonable profit despite poor prices.

According to Marco, we are probably going to see a rise in Ugni Blanc plantings. Similar to Colombar, this is no-nonsense customer in the vineyard and produces impressive yields that can either be processed for light everyday white wine, or be distilled for brandy purposes. There should, however, be a good reason why this is the most widely planted variety in Cognac.

On the red side, the same applies for Ruby Cabernet: It has never wowed connoisseurs, but it delivers a remarkably structured wine, considering the yields this variety produces.

Lelienfontein marketing duo: Andre le Roux and Marco Blom

Referring to grapes that are bigger on value than on tonnage, Marco says that Pinot Noir is in great demand throughout the winelands – but especially in the Robertson area. Variation between clones should be into account here, since higher yielding clones are generally used for MCC’s and called the “Champagne clones”, while lower yielding Pinot Noir clones are more suited for the production of dry red wine.

And niche cultivars? Marco feels strongly that nothing can be written off. “We need to maintain stock of all the niche cultivars. Even less common varieties go through cycles. We always need to have stock at hand.”

With 47 cultivars and 110 clones at their Hemel and Aarde Clone Garden, Lelienfontein has got a reserve of stock and a valuable source of material for the whole industry. 

What the industry – and eventually the market – wants, however, remains the golden question. For now, I’ll celebrate the interest in Pinot Noir by drinking MCC – and buying clothes for next summer.

In the August 09 edition of WineLand, I did a story questioning the role of competition and accolade stickers on wine bottles. This followed after reports that some international importers requested wineries to remove local competition stickers from their wines – arguing that, besides certain international awards, these glitzy decorations are only confusing consumers.

The major value associated with the role of competitions and the uncertainty of the legitimacy of their outcome has since then again been questioned by two separate marketing research reports – one local and one from the US.

 An MBA project by Christiane von Armin, carried out at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), shows that the notable increase in the number of South African wine competitions has watered down the impact of their awards and accolades.

According to Christiane, consumers have also become skeptical about the honesty of some wineries in using awards for marketing wines, while the competition organisers are often the ones cashing in on winemakers’ attempts to increase the prestige of their wines through accolades. The report states that “the abundance of competitions has gradually given rise to doubt, with critics increasingly questioning whether these awards carry the same weight.”

An online survey was conducted among a total of 285 South African consumers by means of a questionnaire. This revealed that variety, vintage, region, producer and packaging all play a bigger role when choosing a wine than awards. On a scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important), the latter only rated 2.97, with variety being the most important factor at 4.14. 

The majority of these consumers (68%) agreed that the increasing number of wine awards is confusing.

Christiane’s report boldly concludes: “Perhaps the industry should take steps to avoid a nasty hangover from overindulgence in competitions and awards – and worse marketers’ fake awards that cheapen the concept.”

To further deepen the concern surrounding the “cheap concept” of competitions, an American study by Robert Hodgson found that there is very little concordance among competitions in awarding gold medals.

This study was published in the Le Bulletin de L’OIV, the international wine organisation’s technical and research report.

In this report an analysis of over 4 000 wines entered in 13 US wine competitions, showed why winemakers often refer to competitions as “wine lotteries”. Of the 2 440 wines that entered in more than three competitions, 47 received gold medals, but 84% of these exact wines also won zilch at another competition.

This report concludes that “the probability of winning a gold medal at one competition is stochastically independent of the probability of receiving gold at another competition, indicating that winning a Gold medal is greatly influenced by chance.”     

According to Christiane, with producers being under pressure from diminishing profit margins, “it is more crucial than ever for wineries to achieve the optimal blend in their marketing mix.”

Maybe this mix, entails more effort in hand to hand sales, label (and not sticker) presentation, expanding to new markets and even new green initiatives – while being more selective when entering a competition.

And if you’re really desperate, don’t cheat by entering small batches at competitions – just enter the lotto. That’s also decided by chance!