COTERIE DE DIONYSIUS
"WE JUDGE THE WINE, NOT THE LABEL"
We are a little coterie of wine lovers who wish to improve our knowledge and appreciation of wine.
We recognize that there are 'Old World' and 'New World' wines, but we are not defined by them. We acknowledge that there are those who luxuriate in the confines of their preferred wines, but we instead prefer to 'push the boundaries' to explore and enjoy the diversity of wines that are available in the world today. Neither style is better, just different. Each should be celebrated for it's own merits.
We recognize that there are 'brand names' in wines as in any other product, but we prefer not to be prejudiced by them. We therefore prefer to assess wine 'blinded' so that we can reach a more honest and unbiased conclusion. Hence our motto "We judge the wine, not the label".
We recognize that some wine critics have the power to move markets and often shape our opinion and influence what we buy, but we will try not to be brain-washed by them. We hope to develop our own wine skills to a sufficiently high level to confidently assess the quality of wine and therefore define our own 'expert' opinion.
We believe that the only good wine is a well made wine, according to our own standards, uninfluenced by wine critics, brand name, reputation or country of origin.
"WE JUDGE THE WINE, NOT THE LABEL"
We are a little coterie of wine lovers who wish to improve our knowledge and appreciation of wine.
We recognize that there are 'Old World' and 'New World' wines, but we are not defined by them. We acknowledge that there are those who luxuriate in the confines of their preferred wines, but we instead prefer to 'push the boundaries' to explore and enjoy the diversity of wines that are available in the world today. Neither style is better, just different. Each should be celebrated for it's own merits.
We recognize that there are 'brand names' in wines as in any other product, but we prefer not to be prejudiced by them. We therefore prefer to assess wine 'blinded' so that we can reach a more honest and unbiased conclusion. Hence our motto "We judge the wine, not the label".
We recognize that some wine critics have the power to move markets and often shape our opinion and influence what we buy, but we will try not to be brain-washed by them. We hope to develop our own wine skills to a sufficiently high level to confidently assess the quality of wine and therefore define our own 'expert' opinion.
We believe that the only good wine is a well made wine, according to our own standards, uninfluenced by wine critics, brand name, reputation or country of origin.
We therefore meet regularly to judge wine on a semi-blinded basis. We have a wine theme and we assess the quality of wines on a blinded basis by a scoring system from all members present. The price of the wines are taken in consideration.
UPCOMING EVENT
RULES FOR WINE COMPETITION
1) WINE BUDGET
Team leaders should negotiate and fix the budget first. For eg., they may agree on $60/bottle (white) or $80/bottle (red), and this is multiplied by the number of team members to give the total budget.
Prices should be current market prices in S'pore and not be historical or release prices.
Price per bottle can be exceeded as long as overall wine budget is not exceeded. Some astute tactical decision & budgeting is needed.
2)VARIETALS
Types of varietals contested can vary according to team leaders, but an odd number should be chosen so there is no tie and an overall winner can be decided. Blends are accepted.
3)NUMBER OF BOTTLES BOUGHT
This should be equal to the number of team members. If there are unequal number of members in each team, the team leaders will need to agree on the number of bottles.
4) METHOD OF CONTEST
The contest is divided into 'ROUNDS" based on the varietals or blends chosen. Teams will present their blinded bottles before each round to be tasted by everyone, and at the end of the round, a simple vote is taken to determine the best wine. The country or region of origin is then allocated one point.
Team leaders must enter a minimum of one bottle per round, but may also chose to enter more. For eg., if there are 10 team members with 5 varietals contested, there is no complusion to equally divide 10 by 5 to have 2 bottles per round. If a team is confident of the wine, then one bottle per round is enough. They can then enter more bottles in the round they feel they're weaker in.
The winning team is then the winner of the majority of the rounds.
5) PURCHASE OF WINES
Team leaders are free to decide whether the wines are decided and purchased centrally, or de-centralised to indidivual members to buy on their own.
6) COST OF WINES
Since the wine budget is similar & maximum fixed, each team should be responsible for their own sharing of costs.
1) WINE BUDGET
Team leaders should negotiate and fix the budget first. For eg., they may agree on $60/bottle (white) or $80/bottle (red), and this is multiplied by the number of team members to give the total budget.
Prices should be current market prices in S'pore and not be historical or release prices.
Price per bottle can be exceeded as long as overall wine budget is not exceeded. Some astute tactical decision & budgeting is needed.
2)VARIETALS
Types of varietals contested can vary according to team leaders, but an odd number should be chosen so there is no tie and an overall winner can be decided. Blends are accepted.
3)NUMBER OF BOTTLES BOUGHT
This should be equal to the number of team members. If there are unequal number of members in each team, the team leaders will need to agree on the number of bottles.
4) METHOD OF CONTEST
The contest is divided into 'ROUNDS" based on the varietals or blends chosen. Teams will present their blinded bottles before each round to be tasted by everyone, and at the end of the round, a simple vote is taken to determine the best wine. The country or region of origin is then allocated one point.
Team leaders must enter a minimum of one bottle per round, but may also chose to enter more. For eg., if there are 10 team members with 5 varietals contested, there is no complusion to equally divide 10 by 5 to have 2 bottles per round. If a team is confident of the wine, then one bottle per round is enough. They can then enter more bottles in the round they feel they're weaker in.
The winning team is then the winner of the majority of the rounds.
5) PURCHASE OF WINES
Team leaders are free to decide whether the wines are decided and purchased centrally, or de-centralised to indidivual members to buy on their own.
6) COST OF WINES
Since the wine budget is similar & maximum fixed, each team should be responsible for their own sharing of costs.