Can 17/20 Licensed Wineries enter?
YES!
When do entries REALLY close?
All entries close 5 PM May 3, 2010.
We must have your wine in our warehouse no later than 5 PM May 7th.
How many bottles of wine do I ship?
All entries consist of your fee PLUS 4 750ml bottles of the entered wine OR 6 375 ml bottles. We realize that some fermented beverages, like cidar and meade, come in different sizes. If you are using 500 ml bottles, for instance, please still send 4.
Here’s why:
1 bottle for the initial tasting
1 bottle if the wine goes to best of class
1 bottle if it goes to sweepstakes
1 bottle in case the submission is corked or flawed
So — whatever you do, make sure we have at least 4. If you are bottling 375’s, we need the extra bottles to make sure we have enough wine to pour if your entry progresses to sweepstakes (all judges taste sweepstakes wines, not just one panel).
When Can I Ship My Wine to the OBWC Warehouse?
Now until May 7, 2010
International entries shipped from overseas must arrive no later than May 1, 2010.
Where do I ship my wine?
Please ship wines to our completely secure, CLIMATE-CONTROLLED storage facility.
Organic and Biodynamic Wine Competition 2010
c/o Sonoma Storage Emporium
4201 Santa Rosa Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
Deliveries are accepted from 9 AM to 5 PM Tuesday-Sat, 9 am – 2 PM on Monday
If you are hand-delivering your shipment, please call ahead and advise Sonoma Storage staff. 707-206-9400
VERY IMPORTANT
ADDRESS shipments to Organic and Biodynamic Wine Competition
MARK ALL SIDES with OBWC or Org/Bio Wine Competition
Enclose a copy of your entry with your shipment.
How many entries are you accepting?
2,000
What is a Founding Member?
Any winery that entered the first OBWC competition in 2008. Founding Members are entitled to special privileges. If you are unsure of your status, please contact us at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Who can enter the Organic and Biodynamic(R) Wine Competition?
Any commercial winery in the world producing organic or Biodynamic(R) may enter the Competition. Your wines must conform to applicable Federal guidelines. U.S. 17-20 licensed wineries may enter. All wineries must provide proof of organic, Biodynamic(R) or transitional certification.
Why are you limiting entries?
Chaos control. Wine competitions fall in the category of herding cats — the challenge is inventory control and logistics.
We limit entries to ensure excellence. (Plus none of the Directors particularly want to spend the last month before Competition putting in 20 hour days. We’d like to still be able to read the labels when the competition begins.)
I’m new to the competition. How do I enter my wines online?
1. Click on any "Enter Now" link on the website. You will be taken to a log in screen.
2. Click on the "Not Registered?" or "sign up here" link. You will be taken to the registration screen.
Fill in all the requested information. Click “register” at the bottom of the page and you will be taken to the home page. To register wines click on "My Wines". You must first create a brand by clicking on "Click here to add a new brand". After you have entered the brand name click on the add a new wine icon. Multiple brands can be added and multiple wines can be added under each brand. **Please make sure the info entered matches the label on the wine bottle.
Your information will be kept year to year. Once you have entered the wines into the database the information will be stored. Wines ARE NOT entered into competitions until they are put in using "Easy Enter".
You can easily change your username (email address) any time you want by logging in and going to "My Company" and changing the email address. Same with your password.
I am unsure which category my wine should be entered into. What should I do?
Call our office at 707-568-3800 707-568-3800 and we will help determine the category in which your wine will show best.
Why do I need to list residual sugar?
Knowing your residual sugar is critical. In competition, wines are flighted and tasted according to their sugar content (unless the wine is completely dry, i.e. < .3 residual sugar). If we don’t know the sugar content of your wine, we don’t know where to put it in the progression of wines in a flight. And that can be disastrous. You really DON’T want your less sweet wine to follow a more sweet wine because your wine will taste SOUR by comparison. This can strongly affect the results of the judging. To make sure your wine is judged properly and shows to its best advantage, please, please, please dig up your tech sheets and give us accurate information. It’s for your own good!
Why should I enter the Organic and Biodynamic(R) Wine Competition?
According to Lisa Shara Hall of Wine Business Monthly, "Wines are increasingly facing a very competitive playing field, and most producers are looking for a way to single out their wines to the consumer. A medal can help tremendously with marketing efforts."
Plus, we’re not satisfied with giving you a medal and a pat on the back. We also give you tools to sell your great wine. Winners get free marketing materials, a supply of winners stickers, a logo to display on your website, and we mail a list of all winners to an exclusive list of top wine buyers in America.
When will the 2010 competition be held?
May 17, 2010 in Santa Rosa, CA.
Is the competition open to the public?
No.
Can I talk to a real person?
You bet! We’re here to help. Call us at 1-707-568-3900 and we try to answer right away. If you don’t get a real person, leave your name and phone number and Lea Pierce or Elisa Thurman, Operations Manager, will return your call. Or email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
I want to enter multiple wines. What do I do?
After logging in (see Log In FAQ) click on "My Wines" and click the "Add Brands" link. If you wish to enter wines under the same brand, click on the new wine icon for that corresponds with the correct brand. Fill in the info and click OK. Repeat as many times as you like.
**The wines will not be entered until they are put into the competition using "Easy Enter".
To do this, click on the "Easy Enter" tab.
Select the competition you wish to enter, in this case, National Women’s Wine Competition.
A page will appear listing the wines you have registered. Press select for the wine you wish to enter into the competition.
Please check either the open competition or women winemaker box. Select the category type (such as red table wine) and then select the category (such as Pinot Noir). Click on OK and your wine has been entered!
Repeat for all wines you wish to enter. When you are done entering the wines click the Next button and you will be taken to the billing page.
Help! The Web Gremlins have attacked and I’m having problems. Can I talk to a real person?
YES! CALL THE COMPETITION OFFICE
707-568-3900
If we don’t have the answer, we’ll get you the answer.
If you are a Founding Member, you have to use LAST YEAR’s email address and "password" as your temporary password to log in. You can change both once logged in (go to "My Company") as many times as you want.
If you cannot remember what email you used last year, click on the password lookup option. If you still have problems, give us a call. We are here to help.
