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The judging

by George Balling
| August 25, 2010 9:00 PM

As we get closer to the grand tasting at the North Idaho Fair on Aug. 28, the other judges and I continue to work through the monumental number of entries submitted for the wine competition. We have so far judged and rated more than 175 entries with more than 50 more remaining in the varietal categories of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. This will then be followed by judging the varietal winners for Best in Show White and Red. We have completed the judging for all of the white varietals, rose and reds including Pinot Noir, Grenache, Malbec and the largest category by far (more than 30 entries) in red blends.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday morning starting at times before 9 a.m., we begin tasting through category after category judging each wine on criteria of color, bouquet, palate, length of finish and varietal truth. We could not be moving as quickly as we are without the dedicated help of our two coordinators Lynne Moyer of Hayden Beverage and Deb Keller of Idaho Wine Merchants. These representatives from two of our great local distributors have the thankless job of opening all the wines and keeping track of which wine goes in which numbered or lettered brown bag to keep the process objective, and finally pouring them all for the judges.

One of the highlights of the judging process to date came in one of our lighter moments when Eric Cook, the Sommelier from Beverly's at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, inadvertently came up with the new name for the competition. We have been wrestling with the name all along as the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo Wine Competition seemed long, and not very fun. At one point last Wednesday during the judging of the Red Blend category Eric exclaimed "What is this event called again, The North Idaho Wine Rodeo?," and at that point the new name was official. It will forever now be known as The North Idaho Wine Rodeo. Thanks Eric!

We have also been entertained during the judging as we all work to come up with more illuminating and original adjectives for the wines. We have enjoyed the process and tasted some really great "juice" throughout.

With any competition like this there are always surprises. Surprises about which wines do well and which don't. So far we have seen the winners from new wineries and more established ones, from big producers and small. Most every appellation from which we have entries has had winners including our home state of Idaho and our neighbors in Washington have done well too. We have selected producers from California, Spain, New Zealand and France as the best in some categories.

All of these winning wines and second- and third-place finishers will be announced for the first time officially at the tasting at the fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 28 starting at 4 p.m. At the event you will have the opportunity to taste many of the wines that have won, and many more that have finished either in second or third place in their varietal competition. For $20 you will get entry to the fair that day as well as the tasting. You will receive your North Idaho Fair and Rodeo logo'd wine glass to keep and five 2-ounce tastes of your choice, with the chance to purchase more tastes at the event. A great deal by any measure, these presale tickets are available here at the dinner party, at Daanen's Deli in Hayden, from the Club at Blackrock and at the fairgrounds. If you wait until the day of the event, the ticket price goes up to $25 so get your tickets soon.

While we are expecting great weather that day, you will be able to taste in the shaded comfort of the tent which will be located close to the grandstand so you can head directly to the rodeo when the tasting concludes at 6:30 p.m.

You will have the chance to meet some of the judges, winemakers, distributors and hear how the winning decisions were made and, yes, to taste wines from around the world. We look forward to seeing you at the tasting. In addition, I will see many of you in the Coeur d'Alene Press booth Thursday from 4-6 p.m.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can e-mail George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Fair and Rodeo wine competition. www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.