International Wine Challenge from the kitchen – Act 2

The setting. Two dozen or so white-tablecloth-covered long tables set for panel judges with all necessary tasting paraphernalia. Plain and simple. No distractions. Then, another space set for six IWC chairmen: Tim Atkin MW, Oz Clarke, Charles Metcalfe, Sam Harrop MW, Derek Smedley MW and Peter McCombie MW, who re-taste the samples to make sure that no good wines are overlooked.


For Act 1 click here

For the Epilogue click here

The rest, probably 70% of the venue floor area is split between the command centre, warehouse, dispatch pit, kitchen and sample checking area. All of them within the Lord’s Nursery Pavilion.

Outside, a calming sea of grass and eye-catching architecture of Lord’s seen through the glass walls. The weather? Well, it is enough to say that the nursery ground saw hail and ducks cheerfully paddling across a rain pond. The first morning was gorgeous though.

April 16, an early start. A lot of anxiety. The finishing touch is given to the place.  The judges start arriving soon after, Masters of Wine, consultants, journalists, buyers, winemakers, some of the big fish of the industry. It spins off slowly at first, the judges getting to know each other or catching up – almost like at a family gathering. After a briefing, a million taste buds are ready to rock ’n’ roll.

The system is simple, the support team has to make the tasting smooth and keep the judges busy and focused. Make sure they have enough wine glasses, notepads, pens, empty spittoons and above all, wine. Not all bottles are okay, about 5.3% are faulty and they have to be replaced within a minute or so. The IWC Fault Clinic checks and performs sensory analysis of them providing valuable information to the industry.

Using fast cutting filming technique, a tasting day would look as follows: Wine arrives on a table in flights of 3-10. Pouring. Observing. Sniffing. Swirling. Tasting. Evaluating. Spitting. Panel discussions. Note taking. Next bottle. Next box. Sparklings. Whites. Reds. Fortified. Stickies…

The reality is much more enjoyable, laughs are exchanged, friendships are formed, excitement and passion for wine is there at all times, even at the end of an 8-hour long day when the judges are seen still savouring the last samples, and all of it to the accompaniment of music mixed by Tim.

To be continued…


For Act 1 click here

For the Epilogue click here