Interview with a taster at this year’s Lyon International Competition

Introducing the taster

LIC: Hello. Before we start talking about your participation in the Lyon International Competition and your impressions of the event, could you please introduce yourself?
TS: Hello. My name is Théophile Schurra, I’m 21 years old and I’m studying engineering at CPE Lyon.

LIC: Had you ever participated in such a competition in the past, and did you think it was possible to act as a wine taster, since wine is not your field?
TS: I had never participated in a competition like this before, but I knew that ‘enlightened’ wine enthusiasts could do so.

LIC: What made you want to participate in the Lyon International Competition as a taster?
TS: A friend who knows I’m interested in wine told me about the competition. I knew right away that I wanted to participate, to interact with other wine lovers and professionals. And since I’m a Lyonnais at heart, I wanted to contribute something to the city.

LIC: What about contacting the organisers and signing up for the Competition? How did that go?
TS: I signed up on the internet, and since everything was clearly explained, it only took me a few minutes.

Before the competition: training

LIC: To judge the wines, you first took part in a workshop. When and where was that?
TS: About 1 month before the competition, the organisers invited me to a workshop that took place one evening in a Lyon wine bar.

LIC: How was the workshop organised? What did you learn?
TS: We learned to judge wine in a more technical way, not just on our sensual impression, even though that is also an important part of the pleasure wine gives. It was very interesting to learn this technical approach, which is new for me.

LIC: Did this training change the way you taste wines in your daily life?
TS: Yes, it certainly did. Now I am systematically interested in the technical aspects of wines I taste. Sometimes, of course, I give these matters just a quick thought. But the training has helped me, for example, to know how long a wine will keep well.

LIC: Was this workshop useful to you in general? Do you think it was sufficient for your understanding of the Competition?
TS: Yes, I think it was sufficient, and at the same time indispensable. Without this prior training, I would not have been able to judge the wines presented at the tasting correctly.

The big day

LIC: Who were the other judges at your table? Were they professionals or amateur wine-lovers?
TS: Olivier Job, who led the workshop at the wine bar one month previously, was at my table. The other members of the jury were a sommelier and another amateur wine enthusiast like me.

LIC: How was the tasting organised? How many wines did you judge?
TS: There are two sessions and about fifteen wines to be judged in all. Each session focuses on a specific category of wine. My first session was on ‘Sparkling wines of the world’ and the second on ‘Beaujolais Village wines’
Tasters spend about 2-5 minutes tasting each wine, and then mark it according to a scale. The wine is then given a final score out of 100. For each session, we were also asked to determine the best wine in the series. The winner was presented to the other tasters at a buffet at the end.

LIC: What criteria were evaluated during the tasting?
TS: Colour and taste, as well as the intensity of olfactory and gustatory characteristics.

LIC: Did all the tasters at your table have the same things to say about the wines?
TS: Yes, overall. We often agreed.

The impressions of our amateur wine-taster

LIC: Did you feel at ease in tasting, after your training session? Why or why not?
TS: Fairly at ease, yes. But for the first two wines I was a little worried about not marking them properly, as I had so little previous experience.  It was also important not to let myself be swayed by the two professionals at the table.
I got the hang of it quickly, though, and at the end of the series I came back to the first two wines and gave them a more equitable score.

LIC: Did you notice a difference in level amongst the tasters at your table?  What did you learn from them during the tasting?
TS: It’s normal, of course, for professionals to have a higher level than us amateur wine-lovers. Yet, while professionals may notice the small defects we miss, I think it is important in this type of competition to also have a more ‘innocent’ opinion. Combining the two results in fair marks that take different tastes into account.

LIC: What was your experience of the Competition’s overall organisation? Did you feel at ease during the entire preparation period and at the event itself?
TS: Very well organised! I received a number of emails (but at the same time not too many) in preparation of the event. The workshop, with a 50% discount for tasters, was a great opportunity because what we learned was useful not only for the competition but also in everyday life.
The organisers also treated us well: we were given a ‘Welcome Pack’ on arrival and a delicious buffet after the tasting.

LIC: Would you be willing to repeat the experience next year?
TS: Unfortunately, I will no longer be in France next year. Otherwise I would have been very happy to do it again!