Chance to watch wizards

Winemaking students got to watch tasting experts in action for the judging of the 2012 Bragato Wine Awards at the Marlborough Convention Centre in Blenheim yesterday.

Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) diploma of viticulture and pine production students and Lincoln University bachelor of viticulture and oenology students are acting as stewards for the two-day wine-judging process, which finishes today.

NMIT wine tutor Tricia Jane, who is chief wine steward for the judging process, said it was a good opportunity for the 22 students involved to understand the wine show system and to try a wide variety of wines.

As stewards, the students set out glasses, prepare more than 500 wines for the judges and clean up afterwards, Ms Jane said.

Judging wine for a job was extremely tiring, she said.

"It's a very demanding job. You have to try over 200 wines, judge them with a numeric score out of 20 and then justify that score."

The process was quite technical, with marks given for factors including colour, aroma, palate and structure, Ms Jane said.

The Bragato Wine Awards were one of several major wine competitions in New Zealand, along with the Air NZ wine awards and the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards.

Six judges will taste more than 500 wines during the two days and results will be announced on Wednesday during the annual Bragato wine industry conference in Blenheim.