To Our Fellow Winemakers: We invite submission of your homemade wines to the 2013 American Wine Society Amateur Winemakers Competition. We have conducted this prestigious Amateur and Commercial wine competition annually for over 40 years. Many amateur winemakers have each earned well over 100 awards during that time. To maintain our high quality and consistency we utilize American Wine Society (AWS) certified judges to score and critique submitted wines. AWS judges have completed a rigorous 3 year training program, supplemented by extensive hands-on experience and periodic recertification. These judges are often sought out and invited to participate in major US wine competitions. The same guidelines and evaluation techniques will be used for both the Commercial and Amateur competitions with one exception. Amateur winemakers will receive the actual scoring sheets and judges comments for each of their submitted wines. This insightful feedback usually includes suggestions for improvements, when needed, and is often found to be more valuable than winning an award medal. We know your potential. The Annual Amateur and Commercial Wine Competitions for 2013 will be held on November 5-7, just prior to the 2013 AWS Conference at the Kalahari Conference Center, Sandusky, Ohio. Deadlines: Paperwork submission October 18, 2013. Delivery of wine between September 1 and October 23, 2013 to the designated address in Sandusky. Good Luck! Joe Dautlick Chair AWS Amateur Wine Competition Competition Inquiries: Email: awc@americanwinesociety.org or Email: competitions@americanwinesociety.org Again this Year: All kit wines will be judged as a separate category in the same varietal groupings as non-kit wines. Best In Show Kit Wine will be awarded as well as Best in Grouping, e.g. Best Vinifera where at least 5 wines are entered. We believe this allows kit winemakers to compare their skills among their peer winemakers. This competition category will utilize the same judges and evaluation techniques as all other portions of the Amateur and Commercial competitions. Be assured your wines will be evaluated fairly and consistently by Wine Judges who are passionate about the art involved in assessing every facet of the wine making experience. To receive an award from these trained Wine Judges is the highest acknowledgement of your skills as a winemaker. We hope you send us not only your best wines, but perhaps those needing critical evaluation of problems. Our trained Wine Judges will provide you with their comments and advice, and we expect several medals.
Wine Classifications Please read the Competition Guidelines. Wines containing less than 75% of one Varietal should be entered as blends. White Vinifera Table wines made from a Vinifera species of grape, dry or semi-dry. 110 Chardonnay 120 Riesling 130 Gewurztraminer 140 Sauvignon Blanc 150 Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) 180 Other White Vinifera Varietals 190 White Vinifera Blends Red Vinifera Table wines made from a Vinifera species of grape, dry or semi-dry. 210 Cabernet Sauvignon 220 Zinfandel 230 Merlot 240 Sirah, Syrah 250 Pinot Noir 260 Cabernet Franc 270 Sangiovese 280 Other Red Vinifera Varietals(Ex, Malbec, Montepulciano) 290 Red Vinifera Blends(Ex, some Chianti, Meritage) White Hybrid Table wines made from the grapes crossed from more than one species, dry or semi-dry. 310 Seyval 320 Vidal Blanc 330 Cayuga White 340 Traminette 380 Other White Hybrid Varietals 390 White Hybrid Blends Red Hybrid Table wines made from the grapes crossed from more than one species, dry or semi-dry. 410 Chambourcin 420 Chancellor 430 DeChaunac 440 Foch 480 Other Red Hybrid Varietals 490 Red Hybrid Blends White Native Table wines made from a North American species of grape, dry or semi dry. 510 Delaware 520 Diamond 530 Catawba 540 Niagara 580 Other White Varietals 590White Native Varietal Blends Red Native Table wines made from a North American species of grape, dry or semi-dry. 610 Concord 620 Norton/Cynthiana 640 Other Red Native 650 Red Native Blends Blends Table wines made from grapes, from different main categories, dry or semi-dry. (Examples: Vinifera/Hybrid, Hybrid/Native, Vinifera/Native.) Minor varietal should constitute 10% or more. If the minor varietal is less than 10%, enter the wine in the appropriate varietal category above. 660 White 670 Red 680 Red/White Blend Fruit Table wines, dry, semi-dry or sweet. 710 Apple or Pear 720 Stone Fruits (Examples: Peach, Plum, Apricot, Cherry, etc.) 730 Raspberry or Blackberry 740 Other (examples: Elderberry, Blueberry, Citrus, May Wine) 760 Fruit Blends (Raspberry/Blackberry) 770 Fruit / Grape Blends, Aperitif, Table, & Dessert (Cherry/Grape) 780 Fruit Infused Dessert 810 Sweet Non-fortified Grape (over 3% rs) 820 Dessert Non-fortified (over 6% rs) (Late Harvest, Ice Wine) 830 Dry, Semi Dry or Sweet Fortified Aperitif or Dessert wines including Port and Sherry
Other 900 Mead and Mead / fruit blends/ fruit infused 910 Vegetable 920 Plant (Dandelion, Lotus Blossom, etc.) 930 Sake Sparkling Wines made effervescent by the presence of Carbon Dioxide. 980 Sparkling Grape and Non-grape including blends Rosé Blush, pink or rose colored, grape table wines Rosé Fruit Wines should be entered in the appropriate Fruit Category. 1000 Dry or semi-dry, made from red grapes or blends of white and red grapes 999 Label Competition
2013 Guidelines 1. An AMATEUR winemaker makes wine either alone or in collaboration with other amateur winemakers. If there is collaboration all persons involved must be named on the entry form and are considered as one entrant. Since this is an AMATEUR competition, no individual or any member of the group should be directly involved with commercial wine making. Commercial wine making is a business enterprise certified as a bonded winery, authorized by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, for the production and sale of wine. Any person who owns, manages, supervises or receives any form of compensation for being involved with the operation of any nonresidential wine making facility may NOT enter the AWS Amateur Wine Competition. Any wine that may be legally sold is not an Amateur Wine. Any inquiries regarding amateur status may be directed to the Amateur Wine Competition Chair. 2. AWS National Amateur Wine Competition entrants are not required to be AWS members. 3. Amateur winemakers may not use the products, other than juice, which may be sulfited, or facilities of a commercial winery during any stage of wine preparation or wine storage. 4. Wines entered in this competition must be free of artificial coloring or flavor enhancers other than oak. 5. Grape varieties are classified as Vinifera, Hybrid and Native. Grapes of the vitis labrusca, vitis riparia, vitis rotundifolia, vitis rupestris, or vitis aestivalis species will be considered as Native. 6. Wines entered as varietals should contain at least 75% of that designated varietal. Wines containing less than 75% of one varietal should be entered as blends. 6a. Amateur Winemakers must list all varietals and percentage of each. 7. Wines from the same fermentation but made into different sweetness levels or receiving different treatments of oak, may be entered into the appropriate categories without restriction. 8. Blends that include grape wine and fruit wine must be entered in the Fruit category, fruit/grape blend and designate proportions. Fruit or non-grape wines which are sparkling or fortified must be entered in the respective Sparkling or Fortified categories. 9. There is no limit to the number of wines that a person or team may enter. 10. Wines which received a GOLD medal in a previous AWS National Competition are not eligible. 11. Two 750 ml bottles (or three 375 ml bottles) will be required for every wine being entered. Wine must be contained in standard Burgundy, Bordeaux, or Rhine shaped bottles. Screw capped bottles are permitted but will be disqualified if sealed with a cork. Sparkling wines must be entered in a 750 ml champagne-type bottle and sealed with a cork or plastic closure secured with the proper safety wire, or a crown cap. Ports and sherries may be entered in fortified wine bottles with T corks. Wines may be entered in 375 ml bottles. However, three bottles will be required if the half bottle size is used. 12. All wines will be judged by a panel of professionally qualified judges according to the current relative merits of the wine within the category. Wines are judged in the category designated by winemaker. A sparkling wine entered in a still wine category is a fault. 13. The Best of Category winners will be clearly superior in their category and the Best of Show wine will have an overall enological excellence that surpasses all other wines in the competition. 14. PRE-REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY! The easiest and preferred method of registration is to use the online form at: www.enofileonline.com. Alternately, registrants can request the entry form be mailed to them to return by mail to American Wine Society, PO Box 279, Englewood, OH 45322 or faxed to 937-529-7888 before October 18, 2013 with a check in U.S. dollars payable to American Wine Society or credit card information
15. ENTRY FEES: For AWS Members the fee is $25.00 per entry. The entry fee for non-aws Members is $35.00 per entry. All members of a wine making team must be AWS Members to get the member rate. The entry fee covers the expense of qualified judges, competition correspondence, award medals and the mailing of the judges score sheets to each AWS Amateur Wine Competition Participant. This fee is comparable or less than other nationally recognized Amateur Wine Competitions. 16. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ship or deliver the entry wines to the competition-receiving site in good condition. Past experience has shown that bottles packed in cartons specifically designed for shipping wine have arrived unbroken. 17. SHIPPING - All wines must be shipped to arrive between September 1 st and October 23, 2013. NO WINES WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE COMPETITION. 18. SHIP TO: AWS COMPETITION AWC, 917 BARDSHAR ROAD, SANDUSKY, OHIO, 44870 UPS has been contacted and is our recommended shipper. It is recommended that NO special designation be written on the outside of the box or disclaimer as to samples for evaluation, or Fragile, or Not For Sale. If you have shipping problems contact Joe Dautlick at awc@americanwinesociety.org. Bottle labels will NOT be mailed to you your bottles may be shipped with your original personal labels. 19. Winemaker Bottle Label contest Must be crafted by winemaker and submitted on the bottle of judged wine using the same address and deadline. These will be judged by a panel of professional judges and will also be judged by an open AWS membership vote. Criteria for judging include, creativity, clarity, artistic appeal, and pizzazz. Add category 999 in the category# on entry form for that bottle. No extra charge. 20. The judging will be conducted on November 5-7 The Best of Show judging will be done following the Panel Judging. Special awards will be given for the Best of Show Wine, Best Vinifera Wine, Best Hybrid Wine, Best Native Wine, Best Fruit Wine, Best Dessert Wine, Best Sparkling Wine, Best Rose Wine, Best Estate Grown Wine, Best Kit Wine, and Best Label. 21. The average scores from the judging panels will decide the number of Gold, Silver and Bronze awarded. 22. The Award Winners will be announced at the 2013 AWS National Conference in SANDUSKY. Winners will also be posted on the AWS website, www.americanwinesociety.org, by Nov. 15 and published in the AWS NEWS. 23. Unused bottles from the Amateur Wine Competition will be utilized for the popular Amateur Wine Experience. At AWE attendees taste and score the wines and compare their scores to those awarded by the judging panels at the Amateur Wine Competition. 24. The AWS Director of Competitions reserves the right to interpret these rules as necessary for the best interest of the Competition. SHIPPING LABELS FOR YOUR USE: AWS COMPETITION AWC 917 BARDSHAR ROAD SANDUSKY, OHIO 44870 AWS COMPETITION AWC 917 BARDSHAR ROAD SANDUSKY, OHIO 44870 AWS COMPETITION AWC 917 BARDSHAR ROAD SANDUSKY, OHIO 44870
Official Entry Form 2013 AWS Amateur Wine Competition Return this page with your entry fee payment. Make additional copies if needed. The easiest and preferred method of registration is to use the online form at: www.enofileonline.com. Alternately, registrants can request the entry form be mailed to them to return by mail to American Wine Society, PO Box 279, Englewood, OH 45322 or faxed to 937-529-7888 before October 18, 2013 with a check in U.S. dollars payable to American Wine Society or credit card information. Include a copy of your entry paperwork with the wine shipment. Deadline Date for Entry paperwork submission October 18. Deadline Date for wine receipt in Ohio October 23, 2013 Are you currently an AWS member? Yes No Name(s) Address City State/Province Zip Phone ( ) Email Number of Entries Total Entry Fees (U.S. $) $ (Note Members pay $25/entry and Non-members pay $35/entry) I (We) certify that I am (we are) the winemaker(s) of the wines entered below and all entries conform to the 2013 Guidelines above. Signature Date Signature Date METHOD OF PAYMENT Check/Money Order Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Use the Category # for your wine as shown under the Wine Classifications section. Add 999 to also enter label competition. Use the following codes for SWEETNESS LEVELS: D=Dry, less than 1% residual sugar, SD=Semi-Dry, 1% to 3%, S=Sweet, 3.1% to 6%, DES=Dessert, over 6% ENTRY #1 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % Sweetness: D SD S DES Estate Grown Fruit? Yes No Wine Kit? Yes No Juice/Concentrate? Yes No, Grapes/fruit/berries? Yes No ENTRY #2 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % Card No. Exp. Security Code: Cardholder s Signature
ENTRY #3 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % ENTRY #6 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % ENTRY #4 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % ENTRY #7 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % ENTRY #5 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % ENTRY #8 Category# Vintage Year Main Varietal & % Please make copies of this page for additional entries.