Food & Drink Awards 2020

Page 30 www.lux-review.com LUX 2020 Food & Drink Awards Initially published for the trade wine buyer or distributor in Asia, Europe or North America, Wine Showcase expanded in 2012 to offer the Australian market wine reviews and expert wine education content. To start, Peter gives us a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into its typical clientele. “Showcasing only the best in Australian wines with no foreign distractions, you won’t find any stories on Bordeaux or see New Zealand wines in the mix. As a helpful companion to wine buyers, Wine Showcase includes the regional and varietal differences of Australian wines showcased. With reviews of newly released wines, ranked in style and price, be rest assured our editorial content features the expert views of the Wine Showcase judging panel.” Wine publications often prove a very useful resource for consumers, particularly if they are interested in trying something new. However, in such a competitive field how do Wine Showcase go about differentiating themselves from their closest competitors? For Peter, travelling worldwide to promote the magazine has served the business well and moving forward they hope to continue travelling (COVID-19 permitting). “As a whole we attend many trade and consumer wine fairs across the globe, including London, Hong Kong, Chicago and several throughout mainland China. The reason for these roadshows are to promote the magazine and the wines featured within. After all, nothing compliments the magazine better than being able to put the wine in the mouth of a buyer. As a regular guest speaker at many of these wine fairs, we are well regarded across the globe for our expert Australian wine reviews.” Regarding wine tasting, the judging panel take a different approach to rating each wine as Peter goes on to explain in more detail. “All the wines are reviewed in a blind tasting manner, and each wine is judged alongside wines Wine Showcase Magazine is a wine publication produced four times a year, assisting wine buyers who are looking to increase their knowledge of Australian wine. Recently, we caught up with Peter Muscet to find out more. Oct20409 Wine Showcase Magazine Best Australian Wine Publication 2020 with similar price points to benchmark value for money. This method therefore ensures that the points reflect the quality in that price bracket, so buyers get the best value for money in whatever price bracket they purchase their wines in. “Wine critics will admit that wine is a subjective experience. The 100-point system makes sense from a scoring point of view. Most consumers will not be able to pick the difference in two or three percentage points, but will give the wine buyer an accurate benchmark to make selections from with other factors such as price point. Several writers use stars or symbols with many scoring out of five. “Typically, 90-100 is equivalent to an A and is given only for an outstanding or special effort. Generally, wines in this category are the very best produced of their type. 80-89 is equivalent to a B in school and such a wine, particularly in the 85-89 range, is very, very good; many of the wines that fall into this range often are great value as well. 70-79 represents a C, or average mark, but obviously 79 is a much more desirable score than 70. Wines that receive scores between 75 and 79 are generally pleasant, straightforward wines that lack complexity, character, or depth. Below 70 is a D or F, depending on where you went to school. For wine, it is a sign of an imbalanced, flawed, or terribly dull or diluted product that will be of little interest to the discriminating consumer. “Naturally, we use three judges for each tasting, plus a chairperson, all with experience in wine and known for their good palates. The final rating is the average score of the three judges. In terms of awarding points, the 100-point scoring system gives every wine a base of 50 points. The wine’s general colour and appearance merit up to 5 points. Since most wines today are well made, thanks to modern technology and the increased use of professional oenologists, they tend to receive at least 4, often 5 points. The aroma and bouquet merit up to 15 points, depending on the intensity level and dimension of the aroma and bouquet, as well as the cleanliness of the wine. The flavour and finish merit up to 20 points, and again, intensity of flavours, balance, cleanliness, and depth and length on the palate are all important considerations when giving out points. Finally, the overall quality level or potential for further evolution and improvement merits up to 10 points.” Finally, Peter commented on the future of Wine Showcase and offered us his thoughts on how businesses can be successful in the Food & Drink industry. “From my past experience I have discovered maintaining credibility and your reputation is the key to success. Moreover, in relation to our particular industry developing new readership channels has to be explored to move with the times. As we head into the remainder of 2020 and beyond, we will be launching a version of the magazine in Mandarin for the Chinese Mainland, which we are really excited for”. Company: Wine Showcase Magazine Contact: Peter Muscet Web Address: www.wineshowcase.com.au