Challenge Rules
Duration:
Participation to the Challenge is by appointment only.
You will have a maximum of 50 minutes to complete the Challenge.
- Should you arrive late for your appointment, you will lose time to
complete the Challenge. - Should you arrive at a different time than the scheduled one, your participation will be considered upon the spot availability at that time.
Main Challenge:
Professional round: Seven wine samples are served double blind* and entrants must identify:
(1) Grape Varietal or Grape Varietals in the blend (4 points)
(2) Country (3 points)
(3) Region of Origin (2 points), and
(4) Vintage (1 BONUS point) to only be used to break “ties”.
Amateur round: Three wines samples are served double blind* and are identified
in the same way as the Professional category detailed above.
*the service is double blind meaning that the servers do not know the identity of the wines they served and entrants receive wine samples coded.
Note on Categories:
Professional: This is the highest level for the competition and garners most of the accolades and approximately 85% of the purse. It is expected that all sommeliers, wine industry people and hospitality professionals will compete in this category.
Amateur: This category is meant for the lay person, wine studies students and individuals very new to the hospitality/wine industry.
Professional: Potential Total: 70 points =7 wines x (4+3+2) (detailed above), plus 7 bonus points potential for breaking ties.
Amateur: Potential Total: 30 points = 3 x (4+3+2) plus 3 bonus points
potential for breaking ties.
Results:
All results (except first, second and third in both categories) are kept
confidential. NO INDIVIDUAL SCORES ARE EVER RELEASED.
Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve, Director of Brock University – CCOVI
personally manages all final and raw results and ensures the integrity of all
results.
Awards:
The Professional category garners most of the accolades and 85% (approx)
of the total purse. First place in the Professional category (or Grand
Award Winner) will have their name engraved on the Grand Trophy and
will be awarded approximately 50% of the total purse.
Composition: Awards are composed of a mixture of cash, trips, educational scholarships, crystal wine stemware, and dining certificates
Additional Challenges:
“CCOVI – Brock University” Canadian VQA Wine Challenge:
Both Professionals and Amateurs alike will be invited to participate in this extra round where entrants will be asked to identify 3 Canadian VQA wines with a similar scoring system as outlined in the main Challenge. There is one
winner of this round that garners a unique prize.
Renaissance Enthusiast Challenge, “Identify the Spirit”:
Both Professional and Amateurs alike will be invited to participate in the extra
round where entrants will be asked to properly identify 2 spirits, their type, their country of origin, their region or appellation, and their age (BONUS point). There is one winner of this round that will garner a unique prize.
Conduct during all Challenge rounds:
It is expected that all entrants will conduct themselves in a professional manner and will expectorate all samples provided. It is also expected that all entrants will conduct themselves with the highest level of integrity and honesty. Any form of cheating or misrepresentation will result in expulsion from the Challenge.
Consent:
The act of registering and accepting an appointment for the challenge will
signify that the individual entrant has read and agrees to all the conditions
and rules set out above.
