Challenge Rules
Participation:
Participation in the Challenge continues to be FREE but please be diligent and attend. We recognize that sometimes when something is free that there may not be the incentive or perhaps commitment to attend - but if you don't attend you're taking away the opportunity for someone else to compete. If you cannot participate please notify us a minimum of 3 days in advance of the Challenge so we may offer your spot up to someone else.
Failure to attend or "NO SHOWS", without appropriate notice or strong reason (with documentation), will result in your exclusion from the 2010 competition.
Please note that you must be 19 years of age to participate.
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. IF you are a past winner in the Amateur Round at the Challenge you must automatically register as a Professional in subsequent years.
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:
In the Professional and Amateur Rounds only the names of the first to third place results are published. In the CCOVI-VQA and Spirit Rounds only the first place result will be published. A confidential 7-digit random code is given to each registrant - your individual result using your random code will be emailed to you directly - FREE. The random code is yours and your alone - NO INDIVIDUAL SCORES ARE EVER RELEASED using any other identifier except the RANDOM I.D. CODE.
Barb Tatarnic of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University 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” VQA Wine Challenge:
Both Professionals and Amateurs are invited to participate in this extra round where entrants will be asked to identify 3 VQA wines with a similar scoring system as outlined in the main Challenge.
Renaissance Enthusiast Challenge, “Identify the Spirit”:
Professional are invited to participate in the extra round where you will be asked to properly identify 3 spirits, their type, their country of origin, their region or appellation, and their age (BONUS point).
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.
