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 There is a buzz in the hall where 110 judges have been tasting wines after a short briefing from Charles Metcalfe, the co-chairperson of the competition and Chris Ashton, the event manager who is in-charge of conducting the proceedings including storage of wines and service. Groups of five judges standing around 44 tables are either tasting intently or discussing wines amongst themselves-The tables are placed in such a way that five people are standing around, so it is difficult to tell who the panel chair is. Suddenly, there are a few loud claps to the beat from one corner of the hall where tables have been laid out separately and 4-5 people are tasting wines. Some people turn around to see where the claps came from. Tim Atkin MW is doing the boogie to the beat of ‘Vibrations’, the popular song by the Beach Boys in the 60s. But within seconds, he has gone back to tasting.
Tim is one of the 5 co-chairs and has been judging at IWC for around 3 decades. He is also the DJ-in charge of organising the music for the competition. This is one of the differences the competition has in contrast to other big-ticket competition where total silence is the key feature. He feels `the music makes the judges concentrate better on their job. One of the most ardent tweeters, he gets online requests from the judges for special numbers and he is always keen to oblige.
Charles Metcalfe agrees with Tim. ‘We have had music playing in the background for several years and Tim has been handling it. The tempo and genre of the music changes with the time of the day and helps the judges perform better’, he says while adding, ‘in the morning it may be soft and jazzy while in the afternoons the tempo goes up as the judges feel a bit heavy and slow down after lunch.’
 ‘The major difference is in the style of judging. We encourage discussion after each flight which has usually 2-10 samples-all blind of course! In the first leg, one simply needs to vote on whether the bottle deserves a Medal, Commendable or No Medal. Medal deserving wines are automatically pushed aside for tasting the following week by another panel. In case of no medals, all these wines are judged by two of the 5 co- chairs.’ Besides Charles, there are Tim Atkin MW, Oz Carke, Sam Harrops MW and Peter McKombie MW. Interestingly, vast majority of the Panel Chairs (there were 22 tables this year!) are also Masters of Wine, ensuring an excellent quality.
‘These guys and our judges are very experience people with trained palates. But, it is quite possible that one of them goes off once in a while. To ensure no sample suffers due to this, we have a safety net and all those that are declared out or there is a big inconsistency, two of us would re-look at the result,’ says Charles. The discussions and the second filter ensures a high class judging.
An important procedural aspect different at this competition is that for each panel there are two tables laid out-only one being used for the flight. Meanwhile, the second one is laid out and kept ready for the next flight-making judging very efficient and the expected number of 100 (twice that prescribed by OIV-sponsored competitions like Vinitaly) a practical number. Vintage, country, grape varieties and percentage of alcohol are informed by the panel chairperson.
 At the end of each flight the chairperson discusses with the fellow judges whether the wine falls in M, C or O Category. Burly Chris Ashton looks more of a bouncer but manages the tastings very proficiently. It is a common practice to loan out two of the Panel Chairs every day during the first week to help the co-chairs- I saw Cathy Van Ziel MW and Christy Canterbury MW working along with the co-chairs on each day to help the Chairmen. I was surprised to see Pedro Ballesteros MW (Spain) carting around crates of wine glasses. He said that he was helping the organisers in the back room as they needed some help. The camaraderie seen at the event was astounding!
There are over 12,000 samples received-2000 samples were already judged in November last year. The first week is where no medals are really awarded-this will happen the following week. Over 50 countries including India have sent the samples. ‘I am sure India has sent the samples. I know they are better producing wines of better quality and will be benefitted by this competition,’ he says.
We will know which of the Indian companies win medals, on May 13, 2015 but it would be re-assuring to know that they would have been an equally afforded an equal opportunity
Subhash Arora
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