Singapore will witness hundreds of wines from across the globe in April when the 4th edition of the WSA Wine Challenge kicks off and international wines vie for greater recognition and acceptance in the expanding Asian wine market, according to a communiqué.
 The WSA Wine Challenge 2010 (earlier known as the Wine & Spirits Asia Challenge) aims to promote knowledge, prestige and value of world-class wines to Asia. Wines will be categorized by country, region and the varietals. Special awards will be given the Best Red, Best White, Best Sparkling and Best Wine of the competition. The wines are to be judged from 17 to 19 April 2010 at the Raffles Town Club, and final results will be announced on 19 April.
The WSA Wine Challenge was formed as a part of Wine & Spirits Asia, an international trade event dedicated to wine and spirits products and services. Winning wines will be prominently displayed and uncorked for tasting at the WSA 2010 wine show from 20 to 23 April, giving them an excellent opportunity of exposure to the potential buyers from Asia’s food and hospitality industry.
The WSA Wine Challenge will feature a carefully selected team of judges, including two Masters of Wine, who are influential professionals from the Asian wine industry. The panel will be presided d by Joel Payne, President of FIJEV (International Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers). Payne, an expatriate American living in Germany since 1983, is highly respected as a wine judge, having covered Germany’s 2006, 2005 and 2004 vintages in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) among many other competitions. He is also the author of Gault Millau, the German Wine guide.
 "Although I have been asked to chair this competition, it has been important for me that the panels at the Singapore Wine Challenge be dominated by the finest palates of Asia. Just as the British, Italian and American authorities often disagree upon what a great Saint Emilion is, I would like to see the same debate emerge with Japanese, Chinese and Indian judges on what each expects from an Australian Shiraz. At the end, the common denominator should provide an Asian point of view,” says Joel.
Cav. Subhash Arora, President of the Indian Wine Academy and one of the judges at WSA Wine Challenge 2010 further explains, “Participants of the WSA Wine Challenge can be assured of the very high standard of professional judging and winning wines will receive very valuable industry recognition. The sampling is done totally blind and judges are given the opportunity to deliberate after each individual scoring and come to a unanimous decision. In cases where opinions differ greatly, the judges on the other panels are brought in to ensure every entry gets a fair shake and an objective score.” Arora has been a judge at several international competitions in Italy, Germany, Spain, Singapore, UK, South Africa and of course India.
By offering widespread exposure to potential Asian buyers and the exclusive opportunity for greater industry acknowledgment, the WSA Wine Challenge seems to be a good choice as platform for global wines to speak out and gain a foothold into Asia.
The competition should offer a good opportunity to the Indian wine producers looking to export to Asian countries. Hopefully the Indian National Grape Board will also acknowledge the importance of such competitions and will subsidise the participation costs. The deadline for entry is 15 March 2010. Details are on their website www.winespiritsasia.com
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