Wine-Stars Announces Their Top 20 Short-List For 2012
By 2012-5-17 8:34:45
WINE-STARS was launched 6 weeks ago to offer the opportunity for global wine producers, in just one 5-minute pitch, to address major buyers in the UK market and obtain broad awareness within the trade. Wine-Stars is a new, tech-driven platform that allows, smart, savvy producers the opportunity for near success.
Following near on 200 entries to www.wine-stars.com, from countries as far flung as Brazil and China, with judges comprising Andrew Shaw, Waitrose Supermarkets; Justin Howard-Sneyd, Laithwaites; Joan Torrents, Mitchell's & Butler; Ben Stephenson, Hanging Ditch Wine Merchants; Catherine Monahan, Owner Clink Wines Ltd and Founder of WINE-STARS; Robin Davis, SWIG.co.uk and Robert Joseph, wine author and director of Doilikeit, 20 wineries have been shortlisted for the first ever WINE-STARS finals on the 24th May, LIWF Excel.
“What has been so exciting is the fantastic quality of entries we have received”, says Catherine Monahan, Founder WINE-STARS. “ This is why I got into the wine world in the first place – the passion of the wine producers has been second to none and the sincere and heartfelt information that we have received, in order for them to gain awareness in this market amongst buyers and consumers, is remarkable. What has also been interesting is the huge amount of value that Linkedin and Twitter have provided in generating awareness (and entry) amongst producers. We thought it would be all Facebook but it’s been the other 2.”
Wineries have been judged on a set of 20 thorough questions including their labels. No winery may be selling in the UK. This is not a typical wine competition where wines are judged blind and only valued on their style/value for money/”quality”. Wineries need to show the following:-
• PACKAGING
• WINE QUALITY
• VALUE PROPOSITION
• BUSINESS PLAN
• INNOVATION/ ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
• MARKETING
All judges have been involved in judging across all the entries to select the top 100 and then the top 20.
“As the dynamics in the global market evolve and consumers become more discerning than ever, it is required to find innovative ways to find that proposition that otherwise would be lost in oblivion. WINE-STARS strips out all the layers that until now have precluded maverick winemakers to show their creations and it enables buyers to find that pearl previously neglected during the search of mass produced wines,” says Joan Torrents, Head of Buying for Mitchell’s & Butler.
All 20 shortlisted will now be invited to attend the LIWF or send a video to present their wines and proposals. All shortlisted must either bring a 6 pack of wine with them or send them via courier ASAP. A mini-tasting will be held on the morning of the 24th May 2012 at the LIWF, where all 20 shortlisted are invited to present and taste through their wines with the judges.
Following this, the judges will put together their reviews of the quality of each finalist’s wines together with the original entries and packaging and will choose the Top 10 Finalists to go through to the WINE-STARS finals in the afternoon in the ACCESS ZONE, starting at 1pm and compered by Robert Joseph. Bloggers, producers, importers are invited to attend the event and taste live.
“At Laithwaites Wine, we love to deal direct with small, authentic wine producers, and looking for new ones is a full-time job. What has been so great about Winestars has been the chance to condense weeks of work into a couple of days of sifting through entries, and I think that we have discovered some real gems. The quality of the wine is still our number one priority, but we sell wine best when we bring it alive for our customers, and to do that, we need winemakers with a story to tell. WINE-STARS gives winemakers a platform. What they do with it is up to them,” says Justin Howard-Sneyd, Laithwaites Wine.
“The enthusiasm that is being shown by the judges is what makes this event exciting,” says Robert Joseph. “Leaping onto this with real gusto is what the wine world should be all about, and if we are able to communicate that excitement of discovery from the buyers/judges and show that to the consumer, then we are taking a small step towards changing the wine world”.
Producers and consumers anywhere in the world, including all producers on stands at the LIWF, can watch the event live from 1pm-4pm on Thursday 24th May on this internet link: http://vrazon.com/accesszone/ which will go live on Tuesday morning.
On Friday 25th May, the wineries who made it into the Top 100 will go live online for an auction for any importer, buyer to request samples from and then bid for the week later. This allows all the finalists a fair chance for listing and awareness in the market.
THE TOP 20 SHORT-LISTED
1. Wine Sans Frontieres/CITIC GUAON WINE CO. - China
2. Blank Bottle Wines - SA
3. Blackboard Wines - Spain
4. Clos Castell - Banyuls Sur Mer, France
5. Co-Operativa Vinicola Aurora - Ltda - Brazil
6. GrassHopper Rock - NZ
7. Tepa: NZ
8. Tintoralba Co-Op - Spain
9. Blind Corner/Two Brother - Western Australia
10. MondoVino - Argentina
11. Puro Uno - Argentina
12. V&N Cellars - Spain
13. SC Vinaria Tiganca SRL - Moldova
14. Dominio de Verderrubi - Spain
15.Vinumterrae - Spain
16. Springvale Wines - Australia
17. M-Simply Good Wines - Slovenia
18. Champagne La Courte-Godbillon, France
19. Miss Vicky Wine - Provence, France
20. Chaffey Bros. Australia
Following near on 200 entries to www.wine-stars.com, from countries as far flung as Brazil and China, with judges comprising Andrew Shaw, Waitrose Supermarkets; Justin Howard-Sneyd, Laithwaites; Joan Torrents, Mitchell's & Butler; Ben Stephenson, Hanging Ditch Wine Merchants; Catherine Monahan, Owner Clink Wines Ltd and Founder of WINE-STARS; Robin Davis, SWIG.co.uk and Robert Joseph, wine author and director of Doilikeit, 20 wineries have been shortlisted for the first ever WINE-STARS finals on the 24th May, LIWF Excel.
“What has been so exciting is the fantastic quality of entries we have received”, says Catherine Monahan, Founder WINE-STARS. “ This is why I got into the wine world in the first place – the passion of the wine producers has been second to none and the sincere and heartfelt information that we have received, in order for them to gain awareness in this market amongst buyers and consumers, is remarkable. What has also been interesting is the huge amount of value that Linkedin and Twitter have provided in generating awareness (and entry) amongst producers. We thought it would be all Facebook but it’s been the other 2.”
Wineries have been judged on a set of 20 thorough questions including their labels. No winery may be selling in the UK. This is not a typical wine competition where wines are judged blind and only valued on their style/value for money/”quality”. Wineries need to show the following:-
• PACKAGING
• WINE QUALITY
• VALUE PROPOSITION
• BUSINESS PLAN
• INNOVATION/ ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
• MARKETING
All judges have been involved in judging across all the entries to select the top 100 and then the top 20.
“As the dynamics in the global market evolve and consumers become more discerning than ever, it is required to find innovative ways to find that proposition that otherwise would be lost in oblivion. WINE-STARS strips out all the layers that until now have precluded maverick winemakers to show their creations and it enables buyers to find that pearl previously neglected during the search of mass produced wines,” says Joan Torrents, Head of Buying for Mitchell’s & Butler.
All 20 shortlisted will now be invited to attend the LIWF or send a video to present their wines and proposals. All shortlisted must either bring a 6 pack of wine with them or send them via courier ASAP. A mini-tasting will be held on the morning of the 24th May 2012 at the LIWF, where all 20 shortlisted are invited to present and taste through their wines with the judges.
Following this, the judges will put together their reviews of the quality of each finalist’s wines together with the original entries and packaging and will choose the Top 10 Finalists to go through to the WINE-STARS finals in the afternoon in the ACCESS ZONE, starting at 1pm and compered by Robert Joseph. Bloggers, producers, importers are invited to attend the event and taste live.
“At Laithwaites Wine, we love to deal direct with small, authentic wine producers, and looking for new ones is a full-time job. What has been so great about Winestars has been the chance to condense weeks of work into a couple of days of sifting through entries, and I think that we have discovered some real gems. The quality of the wine is still our number one priority, but we sell wine best when we bring it alive for our customers, and to do that, we need winemakers with a story to tell. WINE-STARS gives winemakers a platform. What they do with it is up to them,” says Justin Howard-Sneyd, Laithwaites Wine.
“The enthusiasm that is being shown by the judges is what makes this event exciting,” says Robert Joseph. “Leaping onto this with real gusto is what the wine world should be all about, and if we are able to communicate that excitement of discovery from the buyers/judges and show that to the consumer, then we are taking a small step towards changing the wine world”.
Producers and consumers anywhere in the world, including all producers on stands at the LIWF, can watch the event live from 1pm-4pm on Thursday 24th May on this internet link: http://vrazon.com/accesszone/ which will go live on Tuesday morning.
On Friday 25th May, the wineries who made it into the Top 100 will go live online for an auction for any importer, buyer to request samples from and then bid for the week later. This allows all the finalists a fair chance for listing and awareness in the market.
THE TOP 20 SHORT-LISTED
1. Wine Sans Frontieres/CITIC GUAON WINE CO. - China
2. Blank Bottle Wines - SA
3. Blackboard Wines - Spain
4. Clos Castell - Banyuls Sur Mer, France
5. Co-Operativa Vinicola Aurora - Ltda - Brazil
6. GrassHopper Rock - NZ
7. Tepa: NZ
8. Tintoralba Co-Op - Spain
9. Blind Corner/Two Brother - Western Australia
10. MondoVino - Argentina
11. Puro Uno - Argentina
12. V&N Cellars - Spain
13. SC Vinaria Tiganca SRL - Moldova
14. Dominio de Verderrubi - Spain
15.Vinumterrae - Spain
16. Springvale Wines - Australia
17. M-Simply Good Wines - Slovenia
18. Champagne La Courte-Godbillon, France
19. Miss Vicky Wine - Provence, France
20. Chaffey Bros. Australia
From tizwine.com