07 Dec 09
The entire international judging panel at the Argentina Wine Awards 2010 will comprise Masters of Wine (MWs) for the first time in the event’s history.
Twelve MWs from seven countries will assess wines from producers in Argentina at the four-day tasting competition in Mendoza during February 2010. They will be joined by a panel of six expert oenologists/viticulturists from Argentina.
There are currently 278 MWs based in 22 countries around the world. More than 240 students are currently studying for the qualification in the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) education programme, which is dedicated to promoting excellence in all aspects of the wine trade.
MWs have always been represented on the event’s international judging panel but 2010 will be the first year that all the judges will be MWs.
The Argentina Wine Awards, launched in 2007 as an initiative of Wines of Argentina, benchmark and reward the quality and advancement of the Argentine wine industry. In 2009, more than 500 wines from 128 producers were entered into the competition and it is hoped that 2010 will see an even greater number of entries.
The international judging panel for 2010 will comprise: Jo Ahearne MW (UK); Essi Avellan MW (Finland); Rosemary George MW (UK); Peter McCombie MW (UK); Sebastian Payne MW (UK); Sheryl Sauter Morano MW (USA); Barbara Philip MW (Canada); Roger Bohmrich MW (USA); Dirceu Vianna Junior MW (UK); Frank Roeder MW (Germany); Madeleine Stenwreth MW (Sweden); and Debra Meiburg MW (Hong Kong).
All Trophy and Gold Medal winning wines from the 2010 awards will be used by Wines of Argentina in its promotional activities abroad to demonstrate the quality of Argentina’s wines.
MWs who have participated in the international judging panel previously are:
2009 – Tim Atkin MW and Sarah Jane Evans MW (both UK)
2008 – Doug Frost MW (USA)
2007 – Jancis Robinson MW and Beverley Blanning MW (both UK)
Jane Hunt MW, of the event organisers Hunt & Coady Ltd., said: “We have been fortunate to have MWs represented on the judging panel from the beginning of the Argentina Wine Awards where their expertise has proved essential to assessing the quality of the wines entered. The composition of the international tasting panel for 2010 reflects both the growing importance of the awards and the increasingly international membership of the Institute of Masters of Wine with MWs from seven countries judging the wines.”
The Argentina Wine Awards 2010 take place on 22 – 25 February 2010 in Mendoza, Argentina. For further information visit the www.argentinawineawards.com website.