Judges of the Russian Wines Competition 2020
Consumer confidence in wine competitions is primarily formed based on the calibre of the judges. The higher the qualification of the judge, the higher the reliability of the score for wine tasted at the competitions. The panel at the Russian Wines Competition 2020 consists of five Masters of Wine and four Weinakademikers.
Master of Wine (MW) is a title awarded by the UK-based Institute of Masters of Wine since 1953. This qualification is considered the highest standard of wine expertise, the most prestigious and respected in the wine world. It takes years and even decades of intensive study and endless tastings to get the cherished MW initials. In order to enrol in the Master of Wine programme, a candidate must have at least the DipWSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) qualification or its equivalent, for example, a bachelor's or master's degree in viticulture, oenology or wine business, as well as a minimum of three years’ experience in the wine industry. The study programme is divided into three stages. A Master of Wine candidate is required to pass three extremely difficult examinations, consisting of a theoretical part (writing a total of fifteen essays in the allotted time on viticulture, vinification and pre-bottling procedures, handling of wine, the business of wine and contemporary issues of the wine industry) and a practical part (four blind tastings of twelve wines within set times). The final stage is writing a research paper. Due to the especially complex examination process and the volume of required knowledge, few people pass all the exams. As of January 2020, there are 390 Masters of Wine working in 30 countries around the world.
Weinakademiker (WA) is an authoritative wine qualification awarded by the Austrian Wine Academy since 1991. All candidates for the title of Weinakademiker must first qualify for DipWSET, by successfully passing the WSET diploma, the highest of the four levels of WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) qualifications. WSET is the world's largest wine education provider, founded in the UK in 1969, with programmes now taught in more than 70 countries. For the diploma, students study a modular curriculum and sit six final exams. As a rule, it takes two to three years of study to achieve this qualification. After achieving the DipWSET qualification, the candidate selects a research topic, which must be approved by the Director of the Austrian Wine Academy. Once the research paper has been submitted, it must be defended, and, depending on the results, the title of Weinakademiker is awarded. There are more than 800 Weinakademikers from 38 countries worldwide.
In addition to their wine qualifications, all the judges at the Russian Wines Competition have experience judging in international wine competitions. It is also worth noting that seven of the nine judge at the most prestigious wine competition in the world - the UK Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Sponsor of the competition: Cote Rocheuse JSC.
The competition is supported by Austrian Wine Academy (Weinakademie Osterreich); World Sommelier Academy of Bordeaux (WorldSom); Kuban State Technological University; North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture, Viticulture, Winemaking; Wine Education Center WineLab; Millesime Sommelier School; Kuban State Agrarian University; Moscow State University of Food Production.
Venue: Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik.
LEONID FADEEV, Stage 2 MW Student, Weinakademiker, DipWSET, WorldSom Magister Sommelier, Executive Director of Cote Rocheuse JSC.