Competition Rules
COMPETITION RULES
SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL WINE GUILD
RULES FOR COMPETITIONS
SECTION I General.
1. All wines entered MUST be in a 750ml or equivalent US measure standard wine or champagne bottle and must be filled to within 1 inch of the closure. Either cork or screw cap closure is acceptable.
2. Entries will be identified with labels or tags provided by the Competition Committee. Any bottle not correctly labeled or tagged will be rejected unless the owner correctly re-labels or re-tags the wine prior to the commencement of its judging.
3. Entries are limited to ten categories and three (3) bottles per category. They must be of different vintages or ingredients. Vintage is defined as the year in which the major ingredient was picked or the concentrate was opened.
4. A wine that placed first in a previous SARWG competition may not be entered. A blend containing any wine that placed first in a previous SARWG competition may not be entered.
5. To comply with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, there is no entry fee. The costs associated with this competition are covered by membership dues collected by the Guild and by monies collected during fund-raising events of the Guild.
6. Non-members present for the competition will be given the opportunity to join the Guild and immediately become eligible to enter the competition if they meet all of the current membership qualifications.
7. A Guild member may have his/her wine entered in his/her name by another Guild member.
8. All first place winners will be judged for “Best of Show” by a panel of three (3) judges selected in consultation by the Head Wine Steward and the Head Judge. The panel may award the runner-up wine(s) to Best of Show an Honorable Mention ribbon.
9. The “Best of Show” winner is expected to enter the same wine in either a State or a National wine competition, the entry fees for which will be paid by the Guild, funds permitting.
10. All entries must be made by 1:00 p.m. on the day of the competition. Judging begins promptly at 1:30 p.m.
11. Once judging begins, no one is allowed in the judging area except personnel authorized by the Head Judge.
12. Members of all Texas affiliated wine clubs will be eligible to enter SARWG contests at no cost and without membership fees if their club offers a reciprocal agreement.
SECTION II SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
1. Specific gravity will be used to measure the residual sugar in wine since there is no simple way to measure the percentage of residual sugar.
2. Dry wines must have a specific gravity of 1.007 or less. If a judge feels that a wine is too sweet, it must be verified by a hydrometer measurement by the Head Judge before the judging sheet can be marked high in sugar.
3. Sweet wines should have a specific gravity of 1.008 to 1.025. If a judge feels that a wine is too dry, it must be verified by a hydrometer measurement by the Head Judge before the judging sheet can be marked low in sugar. The determination for high sugar is at the discretion of the judge.
4. Wines possessing a specific gravity higher than 1.025 should be entered as dessert wines if 14% alcohol by volume or higher. If entered into a sweet wine category, the determination for high sugar is at the discretion of the judge.
SECTION III CATEGORIES.
1. Red Grape – Dry
2. Red Grape – Sweet
3. White Grape – Dry
4. White Grape – Sweet
5. Native Grape – Dry
6. Native Grape – Sweet
7. Fruit – Dry
8. Fruit – Sweet
9. Berry – Dry
10. Berry – Sweet
11. Novelty – Dry
12. Novelty – Sweet
13. Rosé – Dry
14. Rosé – Sweet
15. Blended Wine – Dry
16. Blended Wine – Sweet
17. Sparkling Wine
18. Dessert/Aperitif
19. Red Wine Dry – Kit
20. White Wine Dry – Kit
21. Sweet/Dessert/Aperitif – Kit
SECTION IV CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS.
1. Red Grape – Dry
Dry category for wines made from red grapes. Wines blended from two or more red grapes, including native grapes, may be entered in this category.
2. Red Grape – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from red grapes. Wines blended from two or more red grapes, including native grapes, may be entered in this category.
3. White Grape – Dry
Dry category for wines made from white grapes Wines blended from two or more white grapes, including native grapes, may be entered in this category.
4. White Grape – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from white grapes. Wines blended from two or more white grapes, including native grapes, may be entered in this category.
5. Native Grape – Dry
Dry category for wines made from grape species native to North America, and their seedlings, without any Vitis vinifera parentage, whether harvested from a wild or cultivated vine. Hybrid varieties produced by man, regardless of parentage, are not considered native. Native grape wines may not be blended with non-native grape ingredients and entered in this category. Wines entered in this category may not be simultaneously entered into Red Grape or White Grape categories.
6. Native Grape – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from grape species native to North America, and their seedlings, without any Vitis vinifera parentage, whether harvested from a wild or cultivated vine. Hybrid varieties produced by man, regardless of parentage, are not considered native. Native grape wines may not be blended with non-native grape ingredients and entered in this category. Wines entered in this category may not be simultaneously entered into Red Grape or White Grape categories.
7. Fruit Wine – Dry
Dry category for wines made from fruit. Wines blended from two or more fruits may be entered in this category.
8. Fruit Wine – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from fruit. Wines blended from two or more fruits may be entered in this category.
9. Berry Wine – Dry
Dry category for wines made from berries. Wines blended from two or more berries may be entered in this category.
10. Berry Wine – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from berries. Wines blended from two or more berries may be entered in this category.
11. Novelty Wine – Dry
Dry category for wines made from ingredients other than grapes, fruit, or berries. Wines blended from two or more of those ingredients may be entered in this category. Novelty ingredients may be vegetables, grains, seeds, flowers, spices, leaves, barks, roots, sap, and honey wines (meads).
12. Novelty Wine – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from ingredients other than grapes, fruit, or berries. Wines blended from two or more of those ingredients may be entered in this category. Novelty ingredients may be vegetables, grains, seeds, flowers, spices, leaves, barks, roots, sap, and honey wines (meads).
13. Rosé Wine – Dry
Dry category for wines made from grapes, fruit, or berries. Wines blended from two or more grapes, fruit, or berry fruits or a combination of any of these may be entered in this category. The qualifying attribute of this wine is the color.
14. Rosé Wine – Sweet
Sweet category for wines made from grapes, fruit, or berries. Wines blended from two or more grapes, fruit, or berry fruits or a combination of any of these may be entered in this category. The qualifying attribute of this wine is the color.
15. Blended Wine – Dry
Dry category for wines blended from wines of different categories, such as grape and non-grape, except sparkling. The entry form and the bottle label must specify the percentages of a main ingredient and blend ingredient(s).
16. Blended Wine – Sweet
Sweet category for wines blended from wines of different categories, such as grape and non-grape, except sparkling. The entry form and the bottle label must specify the percentages of a main ingredient and blend ingredient(s).
17. Sparkling Wine – Dry or Sweet
Category is for sparkling wines made from wines of any of the above categories. The entry form and the bottle label must specify whether the wine is dry or sweet. The wine must be in a champagne bottle with a wired closure. The winemaker is responsible for providing chilling for the wine. This category will not be opened for judging until just prior to the Best of Show judging.
18. Dessert/Aperitif
Category for still wines of 14% alcohol by volume or greater, made from any wines from the above categories. Any sweet wine in excess of specific gravity 1.025, unless sparkling, and with 14% alcohol by volume or higher, must be entered in this category. Each entry will be judged according to its winemaker’s expression of style. The entry form and the bottle label must specify whether the wine is dry or sweet – e.g., “Vermouth, Dry” or “Peach, Sweet”.
19. Red Wine Dry – Kit
Dry category for red wines, either grape, non-grape or blend, made from a manufactured kit. Wines blended from two or more batches, with at least one being from a kit, resulting in a red or rosé must be entered in this category.
20. White Wine Dry – Kit
Dry category for white wines, either grape, non-grape or blend, made from a manufactured kit. Wines blended from two or more batches, with at least one being from a kit, resulting in a white or blush must be entered in this category.
21. Sweet/Dessert/Aperitif – Kit
Category for sweet wines of any color and alcohol content, and wines labeled in a style appropriate for a sweet dessert or aperitif, made in whole or part from a manufactured kit. Sweet table wines should be labeled as type/varietal wine and “sweet”, such as “Tuscan Red Sweet” or “White Merlot Sweet”, while dessert and aperitifs should be labeled to clearly denote the style, such as “Blackberry-Chocolate Port”. Proper labeling is the sole responsibility of the entrant.
SECTION V EXPANSION OF CATEGORIES.
1. At the option of the Head Steward, in consultation with the Head Judge, in categories in which there are at least five (5) entries of a particular kind, such wines may be moved into a separate judging category for the present competition only.
2. Separate ribbons will be awarded for the separate category.
SECTION VI AWARDS.
1. Judges are not obligated to award a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon if in their judgment there are no entries worthy of that position.
2. In case of ties, duplicate ribbons will be awarded, except that there can be only one award for “Best of Show – Grape Wine”, “Best of Show – Non-Grape Wine” and “Best of Show – Kit Wine.” In non-kit wine, blended wines will be considered for the Best of Show award that accurately describes the declared majority component(s) of the blend.
SECTION VII ERRONEOUS CLASSIFICATION.
1. It is the responsibility of the winemaker to correctly classify his/her wine!
2. Errors in classification discovered by the Head Steward when bottles are being opened and before judging begins will be reported to the Registrar for resolution and possible reclassification.
3. After judging begins, any wine discovered to have been entered by its winemaker into an incorrect category will be judged against the category entered and suffer style penalties.
4. After judging begins, any wine discovered to have been entered by competition personnel into an incorrect category will be moved to and judged against the proper category without penalty.
APPROVED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL WINE GUILD ACTIVE MEMBERS AT THE GENERAL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2003; AMENDED AT THE GENERAL MEETING OF MARCH 21ST 2004, MARCH 18TH 2007, MARCH 15TH 2009, AND AUGUST 19TH 2012.
CERTIFIED:
FRIENCH TARKINGTON
SARWG PRESIDENT