This November 5th we will hold the 3rd Annual Palate Press Grand Tasting, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Guests will include wine professionals and wine lovers.
The Palate Press Grand Tasting is one of the largest blind tastings of its kind. This year we expect more than two hundred guests and at least as many wines. Every wine will be blind-bagged and identified by its varietal or blend. Wines are judged as follows. All attendees are encouraged to rate the wines from one to five stars, as well as include any comments they are moved to make. Scores and comments from wine professionals are weighted more heavily than those from the other guests.
The wines are also individually tasted and reviewed by regular Palate Press reviewers.
After the Grand Tasting is over the ratings and reviews are collected, collated, and finalized. A report on the Grand Tasting will run as a Feature Story on Palate Press, identifying the wines with the highest ratings as winners and including reviews of those wines.
The first year sixty different wines were tasted in Palate Press’ First Grand Tasting, attended only by wine professionals. Twelve winning wines were highlighted in the Feature Story and dozens more were reviewed in tasting notes in the following months. Winners included Montes Purple Angel, Olson Ogden Pinot Noir, Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz Reserva, and Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Rockaway.
The next year almost a hundred wine professionals and wine lovers attended the Palate Press 2010 Grand Tasting, featuring 135 wines from around the world. Twenty-eight different wines were noted in the Feature story and at least twice as many included in later Palate Press Tasting Notes. Big winners from 2010 included Tres Sabores, with two winning wines, Dry Creek Vineyard, and V. Sattui.
This year we expect more than two hundred guests and at least as many wines. One new category for judging will be Palate Press Wine of the Year. All past Palate Press Wine of the Week winners from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 are invited to submit a bottle of the winner. The wine professionals in attendance will select the Palate Press Wines of the Year from those selections.
Wineries interested in submitting a wine for the 3rd Annual Palate Press Grand Tasting should send it to:
Palate Press Grand Tasting
9425 Meridian #201
Indianpolis, IN 46260
Please submit wines early to give them time to rest from their travels. If you are unable to ship wine to Indiana (most can, as this is not a retail sale but sample submission), please contact us at grandtasting@palatepress.com to arrange for pick up through a local distributor.