Page 40 - Grapevine JanFeb 2022

In The Winery

or a Double Gold. The cost per entry is $110, along Magazine as one of the top five wine auctions in
with the submission of three 750 ml bottles of each the country; and Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine
entry. Winners receive a marketing toolkit that Garden, which offers winning wines for sale during
offers tips for building brand recognition, boosting the annual Rodeo in March. Every year, these
customer acquisition and retention, and generating events generate approximately $6 million charita-
publicity and trade attention. Winners also have ble dollars to support Rodeo’s mission. For more
access to pre-printed bottle stickers; medallion information on the competition, visit www.rodeo-
artwork to use in print, internet and social media houston.com/wine
promotions; discounted point-of-sale promotional
materials; and participation in tasting events that What competitions should you enter?
provide exposure to target markets. For more infor- If brand building is key to your marketing strategy,
mation, visit www.sfwinecomp.com look at each competition and consider the expo-

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: Rodeo sure you will receive as a participant or winner in
Uncorked! International Wine Competition the event. Also, look at the reliability of judging
as a benchmark against your peers, access to dig-
Now in its nineteenth year, Rodeo Uncorked! ital marketing materials to promote your brand,
highlights wine production in agriculture. The event options for participation in consumer events and
sets itself apart for two reasons: Judging is based cost of entries and bottles versus benefits offered
on a double-blind procedure, and it is audited by your entry.
onsite by PricewaterhouseCoopers, ensuring the
highest integrity. This year’s competition featured “The purpose of wine competitions is to advance
2,862 entries from 17 countries, including 480 win- the brand,” said Paul V. Bonarrigo, co-founder of
eries from Texas and several hundred entries from Messina Hof Wine Cellars, Inc. in Bryan, Texas, and
this year’s featured region, Washington State. winner of thousands of medals in local, national
and international competitions. “Many established
Judges for the three-day event include local, wineries that sell out each year do not enter com-
national and international representatives from the petitions.”
supplier, wholesale, retail and restaurant branches
of the wine trade, as well as members of the press While some wine competitions may promote an
and a select group of knowledgeable local consum- increase in wine sales for winners, that may not be
ers. Winners of the top 13 awards receive custom, true for all events. “Years ago, wine competitions
hand-tooled leather trophy saddles. Class and were tied to retail promotion,” Bonarrigo told The
Reserve Class Champions are awarded custom belt Grapevine Magazine. “When Messina Hof Angel
buckles. All winners have access to high-resolution late harvest riesling won a gold medal at the Dallas
formats for point of sale materials, including digital Morning News, the next week we sold 700 cases to
medals for online and print marketing and printed retail in Dallas. Due to the sheer number of com-
bottle stickers. petitions, there is very little impact on retail sales
today.”
The cost to enter the competition is $60 per bot-
tle for early bird entry, along with five bottles of Bonarrigo, who has entered six competitions
wine per entry. After the show, winners of the top per year for the past five years, claims his success
award have an opportunity to participate in three comes from building brand recognition. “Today,
wine-related fundraising events for the Houston medals help to reinforce your fan base and can
Livestock Show and Rodeo. They include Rodeo help promote new varieties and new wines. The
Uncorked! Roundup & Best Bites Competition, People’s Choice Competition in Grapevine is an
where 400-500 award-winning wines are served outstanding consumer participation competition.
with gourmet foods from top Houston restau- We have consistently won best of class in 75 to
rants to over 5,000 attendees; the Champion 100% of our entries. It has helped us secure a very
Wine Auction & Dinner, rated by Wine Spectator loyal fan base in Dallas/Ft. Worth and especially in
Grapevine.”
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