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 The
results declared on their website
seem to indicate only the Gold and Silver winners-no Indian bubbly has
ever won one of those but to the best of our knowledge no Indian bubbly
has ever won a medal in this competition which is chaired by the well-known
journalist Tom Stevenson, Founder & Chairman of the competition. He
is the first wine journalist who specialised in Champagne when, after
six years of research, he published in 1986 Champagne. His Christie’s
World Encyclopaedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine reproduced a 17th-century
document proving that the English invented sparkling Champagne before
Dom Pérignon.
The other two specialist judges assisting him are Essi Avellan MW and
Dr. Tony Jordon. According to Tom Stevenson, “Essi Avellan MW and
Tony Jordan are the two greatest and most consistent specialist Champagne
and sparkling wine tasters I have encountered, and I have tasted literally
thousands of Champagnes with both of them. Essi is the most naturally
gifted Champagne taster I have seen, while Tony’s experience and
technical understanding of sparkling wines is unsurpassed.” “I
don’t think anyone could criticise the qualifications of the judges
of Tom Stevenson’s new fizz competition,” says Jancis Robinson
MW. Dr. Jordon has been actively involved in assisting the Chandon India
project in the initial stages of execution as a consultant, when I met
him in Nashik during one SulaFest.
It may be interesting to note that Chandon China which started making
sparkling wines almost at the same time as Chandon India also won two
medals. Chandon China NV Brut has won Gold whereas the Rose has won a
Silver medal.
Nevertheless, Moet Hennessy India is very proud of
their first International Award-and that too for both their variants.
“We are ecstatic and proud to win our very first international award
at the CSSWC 2017. It is encouraging to see Chandon India receiving such
prestigious accolades globally. Our efforts have always been to encourage
the ever evolving and discerning consumer and introduce
them to the world of Chandon,” says Stéphane De Meurville,
the Managing Director. Chandon was introduced in India in 2013 and has
been gaining market share at an astronomical speed because
of the branding advantage of Moet Chandon and quality, even if it meant
several drinkers switching from Moet Chandon champagne to Chandon sparkling
wine.
Including
India and China there were 29 countries that participated; 127 Gold medals
were awarded and with 167 wines receiving a Silver. Champagne and Sparkling
wines may appear to be a simple category but there are over 110 different
trophies and Best in Class awards which can be seen on their website.
But one has to win a Gold to qualify for the Trophies. The Trophy winners
for 2017 will be announced on September 14 in London.
The website for Results
is not the most user-friendly or easy to negotiate. There does not seem
to be a country-wise search possible through the data-base. Each category
has Gold and Silver medal category described individually, making it very
cumbersome to follow. Despite clear information on selling stickers for
the 2016 edition and the Price of the Guides to the Tasting Notes etc
of Gold and Silver medal winners only (making one feel that Bronze is
just a consolation prize), there seems to be no information available
easily on the site for the Bronze medal winners.
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Subhash Arora
Based on the results since 2014 when the competition was ostensibly
launched, one cannot say with certainty if there were any Bronze winners
from India (certainly no Gold/Silver). However, with our pulse on the
market and constant interaction with the producers, one can say with reasonable
certainty that this is the first time an Indian sparkling wine has won
an international medal in this competition. I would be gladly willing
to accept an error if pointed out- till then Chandon India is the first
Indian bubbly to have cracked a medal at the only completion in the world
that judges only champagnes and sparkling wines and by an eminent panel
of judges who must all agree on the medal that is being awarded- editor
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