Gold Medal value?

[Gary Kahle]

I opened a bottle of wine for dinner last night and noticed it had a sticker for winning a Gold Medal at some wine competition. I bought this wine after tasting at a winery tasting room and didn’t even notice the sticker. I know a lot of wineries take pride in these awards. My question is; are you influenced by them ?
Cheers, Gary

[Bob Parsons Alberta]

Not at all. it`s all a load of baloney! It is the same with those useless bottle neck tabs.

[Brian Gilp]

Not generally but if a winery has a wine that has won gold at multiple events and it includes one of the few competitions that I know is respectable then I will take notice.

[Victorwine]

Hi Gary,
I tend to agree with Brian. Basically all the medal means is that a particular bottle of that wine was awarded recognition or a medal at a particular time If a wine (or winemaker) consistently receives recognition at multiply and “respectable” competitions sometimes its worth taking an interest. (The winemakers doing something right).

Salute

[Jenise]

Not really. Everybody else's idea of good isn't neccessarily mine. But I'm sometimes more curious if it's a competition that has a good reputation and, big AND here, if the medal's double gold which means that every judge on that panel voted 'Gold'. Having been on those panels myself, I know that's not easily achieved.

[Carl Eppig]

It all depends on where the medal was earned. Some competitions are run much more conscientiously than others.

[Gary Kahle]

It sounds like many are saying it depends on ‘which’ competition. So, how would I know which were the good ones? And then, what makes someone qualified to be a judge? How about hearing from some judges.
Cheers, Gary

[Brian Gilp]

I am familiar with a few back from when I worked at a Midwest winery and some from folks that have participated as judges. Problem is that things change and what was a good competition back in the 1990s may not be now and what was a poor show back then may have improved. The better competitions have web pages where you can look up the judges and all the medal winners which makes it a lot easier to determine the quality.

[Mike Bowlin]

Like most replies the vast majority of those medals that I have seen or purchased meant nothing with one notable exception. Peachy Canyon Zin from the Paso Robles area in California has had many state medals attributed to specific wines and vintages. I purchased those and was pleasantly surprised that the winners proved to be just that, very good zins IMHO.

[Peter May]

The value of the medal depends on who is issuing them and how many enter.

Some competitions Gold is the highest, others it is topped by double golds, platinums, trophys and etc. Some comps seem to offer a medal just for entering.