Robert T. Hodgson, who analyzes the reliability of Gold medals awarded at 13 California Wine Fairs. “An analysis of over 4000 wines entered in 13 U.S. wine competitions shows little concordance among the venues in awarding Gold medals. Of the 2,440 wines entered in more than three competitions, 47 percent received Gold medals, but 84 percent of these same wines also received no award in another competition. Thus, many wines that are viewed as extraordinarily good at some competitions are viewed as below average at others. An analysis of the number of Gold medals received in multiple competitions indicates that the probability of winning a Gold medal at one competition is stochastically independent of the probability of receiving a Gold at another competition, indicating that winning a Gold medal is greatly influenced by chance alone. ”

I know from personal experience that a majority of judges may recommend a gold medal on a particular wine, but not all of them. One judge may not even think that wine the others thought was worth a gold is worth ANY medal. It’s very subjective, depending on the Judges experience or personal feelings about a certain wine. We try to be objective, but it’s doesn’t always work.

Andy