- Eligibility: All bonded wineries and custom crush growers in the Midwest (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee) that make their wines commercially are eligible to enter the Mid-American Wine Competition (MAWC).
- The Entry: The entry fee is $40 per wine entered. Four bottles of each wine entered must be sent to the MAWC. An entry is comprised of four (4) 750 ml. bottles or four (4) 375 ml. bottles of a wine. Checks should be made payable to Des Moines Area Community College.
The wine entered must be available for purchase at the winery at the time of entry (or scheduled for release before the end of the year.)
You must give the percent residual sugar (RS) for each wine on the entry form. As you probably know, one percent residual sugar is equivalent to 10 grams of sugar per liter of wine. This information is vital to allow the judges to taste wines within a class in the proper sequence.
A winery may enter as many wines as it wishes. A wine may be entered in more than one category but a separate entry fee and separate bottles must be sent. While you are asked to select the category the wine will compete in, the MAWC reserves the right to reassign categories to allow the entry to compete against similar wines.
If the wine is a blend, the grapes used in the blend must be specified on the label or the entry form.
- Shipping: Wines must be received by June 20, 2008. The original entry form should be mailed with payment to the address listed below. In addition, a copy of the entry form should be included in the case of wine that is shipped. Entries should be sent to:
Mid-American Wine Competition
Des Moines Area Community College
2006 South Ankeny Boulevard, Building 7
Ankeny, IA 50023-3993
- Competition Location: The judging will take place at the Iowa Culinary Institute at Des Moines Area Community College on July 11, 12, and 13, 2008. Wines may be awarded gold, silver or bronze medals. A best red wine and a best white wine of the competition will be awarded. Additionally an award will be given for the best Iowa wine of the competition. The decision of the judges is final and will not be altered in any way by the Competition Director or anyone else.
- The Judging: The judges will be reminded that sheer power is not a reason to award a wine a medal. They will be instructed to look for flavor, terroir, and balance. The goal is to avoid having delicate wines, wines with elegance or finesse, overlooked in favor of massive wines that lack charm, varietal character, or balance.
All judging of the wine will be performed blind by a panel of experienced wine judges. They will not be told the actual name of any producer until after the competition has been completed. Each wine will be evaluated by the members of the judging panel individually. The judges then confer and make the awards. A consensus determines all of the medals. Additionally, the panel will nominate the best gold medal wines they taste for the best red or best white sweepstakes awards.
- Label Competition: All wines entered will automatically be entered, at no additional charge, in the label competition. Awards will be given by a panel of artists, art professors, and commercial artists for the best individual label, the most unique label, and the best label series.
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Viticulture & Enology
Des Moines Area
Community College
Iowa Culinary Institute
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Ankeny
