North America’s Largest Charitable Wine Competition

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - March 25, 2014 - PRLog -- March 24, 2014

ATTENTION ALL MEDIA

14th annual Finger Lakes International Wine Competition
takes place March 29-30, 2014

North America’s Largest Charitable Wine Competition

(ROCHESTER, NY)  The 14th annual Finger Lakes International Wine Competition is being held this weekend at the Rochester Plaza, March 29-30, 2014 in Rochester, NY. The competition will be judged by a diverse and highly skilled group of 63 national and international judges, representing sommeliers, educators, enologists, winemakers, writers, importers, retailers and industry consultants from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the United States and other wine regions of the world.

“A common misperception about wine competitions is that wines can’t get a truly global wine judges’ opinion because of the local regionality of the judges,” said Peter Parts, event founder and president of Peter Parts Electronics. “The Finger Lakes International Wine Competition has the most diverse international group of judges ever assembled in the United States to give the entrants the best possible global palate and global opinion.”

All judging is single-blind tasting. Judges are notified which classification they are judging just prior to each flight. They do not know the producer or regional origin of the wine. Competition judges are split into panels of 4-5 members and a are allowed only in the Judging Room for the duration of the competition. Teams of highly trained volunteers prepare the wines in the “back room” just minutes prior to tasting, and are delivered to the judges in numbered glasses. Each panel then discusses the wine they are tasting before reaching a final score. Final scores are collected from the judge’s room, and tabulated in the control room.

Special awards include the JOHN ROSE AWARD for best in class Riesling, the CRYSTAL GRAPE AWARD for best in class Ice Wine, the Best in Class Chardonnay and Best in Class Cabernet Sauvignon. Medals are awarded for Double-Gold, Gold, Silver, and Bronze winning wines. A complete listing of 2014 winners will be available at www.fliwc.com the week following the competition.

Award-winning wines will be featured at several public events following the competition, including a charitable gala on May 3, 2014 at the Rochester Plaza Hotel to benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times. Billed as the “best wine dinner in the world,” the event attracts more than 800 wine aficionados and collectors.

So far this year, over 3,750 wines have been entered from 936 wineries in 21 countries, including all 50 United States and 6 Canadian provinces, with more entries arriving right up until the competition begins. “Our goal is not to be the biggest competition in the world—but the best, most prestigious competition in the world,” said event founder, Peter Parts.

Recognized as North and South America’s largest charitable wine competition, this event is committed to promoting the entire wine industry—not just the Finger Lakes—and proceeds benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges.

Media: you are welcome to cover the competition at the Rochester Plaza Hotel and Conference Center March 29th  and 30th  from 9am–4pm.

Interviews with international judges, volunteers and founding competition committee members will be arranged.  Many volunteers and founding members have compelling stories about their involvement with the competition and Camp Good Days and Special Times.

14th Annual Wine Competition Highlights

Largest charitable wine competition in North America
72 of the world’s top international wine judges—from
15 countries & 17 states—make this a highly regarded competition.
For a complete listing of this year’s judges, with photos and biographies, visit www.fliwc.com/judges.asp
Extraordinary army of volunteers
Truly a blind judging - judges only know the appellation they are tasting

The competition isn’t the end of this unique fundraiser. Winning wines will be featured at a gala dinner and auction scheduled for Saturday, May 3 at the Rochester Plaza. All proceeds from this event will be used to fund camp stays and events to benefit children from around the world who are battling cancer.

For more information visit http://www.fliwc.com