CONCOURS DES VINS à ORANGE

Transcription

1 CONCOURS DES VINS à ORANGE RULES ARTICLE 1 - Name CONDITIONS OF ENTRY The non-profit association CONCOURS DES VINS À ORANGE, whose registered office is located at 2260 Route du Grès, Orange, organises a Wine Competition that is held every year on the first Saturday in February. The purpose of this event is to promote the AOP (or AOC) wines, and the IGP (Vins de Pays) wines, of the Rhône Valley. ARTICLE 2 - Entrants The Competition is open to: Independent Grower-Producers Cooperative Wine Cellars Producer Groups Cellar Federations Négociant Companies. ARTICLE 3 - Samples The wines in competition must come from homogeneous batches, held with a view to being marketed for consumption. The term batch refers to a homogeneous quantity of product from the same production and blending operation. The batches must have undergone final blending before the sampling date. One sample corresponds to one batch. The maximum permitted number of samples is 25 per entrant. A maximum of five samples out of 25 may come from multi-vat batches. A batch may comprise 1 to 5 vats at most, with a maximum volume of 5,000 HL. In the case of a 10 HL minimum volume: if this represents the entire crop, the Competition may allow the entry of wine batches with a volume of less than 10 HL, but not less than 1 HL. The batch must comprise a defined number of barrels, whose numbers shall be specified. For Négociant Companies, the batches in competition must be located at said companies address. If applicable, a négociant whose wines are housed in cellar X must provide a certificate, co-signed by buyer and seller, stating that the wines have been purchased by the négociant and that, as such, he can enter them in his own name, and the cellars undertake to not enter the same wine in competition. The same container cannot be entered more than once.

2 Minimum number of samples Conditions for competition to be held: a minimum of 3 samples entered by 3 separate entrants, per category of wine. Should one or more samples be cancelled, no refund will be paid. ARTICLE 4 Categories of wine in competition The AOP (or AOC) wines and IGP (Vins de Pays) red, rosé and white wines listed below. a) AOP CÔTES DU RHÔNE WINES: - Regional Appellations - Villages Appellations, with or without the municipality name - Crus: RASTEAU - BEAUMES DE VENISE TAVEL CHÂTEAUNEUF DU PAPE - VACQUEYRAS VIN- SOBRES - GIGONDAS - LIRAC - CONDRIEU - CÔTE ROTIE - CORNAS - CROZES HERMITAGE - HERMITAGE - SAINT JOSEPH - SAINT PÉRAY - Vin Doux Naturel Appellations: MUSCAT DE BEAUMES DE VENISE RASTEAU b) AOP VALLÉE DU RHÔNE WINES: LUBERON - VENTOUX - GRIGNAN-LES-ADHÉMAR - COSTIERES DE NIMES - COTES DU VIVA- RAIS c) IGP WINES: - IGP Méditerranée - IGP Vaucluse, Principauté d Orange and Aigues d) VINTAGES: year of competition, and year prior thereto. ARTICLE 5 Entry pack Completed entry packs must reach us by post by the second Thursday in December at the latest. Should items be missing, these must reach us WITHOUT FAIL BEFORE THE COMPETITION. The entry pack consists of: - The entry form, which allows precise and full identification of the entrant (trading name - business name - brand - address SIRET number, etc.) - The wine entry sheet, which identifies each batch entered (number - appellation - colour quantity entered, etc.) - The payment form. The entry pack must be duly completed, signed and appended with the following documents: - The entry fee payment cheque, made out to Concours des Vins à Orange.

3 - The analysis report, containing the values of the following analytical parameters: - alcohol by volume (actual and potential); - sugars (glucose + fructose), expressed in g/l; - total acidity, expressed in meq/l; - volatile acidity, expressed in meq/l; - total sulphur dioxide, expressed in mg/l; - Details allowing clear identification of the sample (name vat number colour - appellation vintage, etc.) - Output statement(s) (déclaration de revendication) sent to your protection and management body (ODG), or a copy of your crop statement(s). The analysis report must be drawn up by a COFRAC authorised or accredited body and be dated from less than one year ago. ARTICLE 6 Sampling arrangements Each sample shall have an accompanying sampling sheet drawn up by the organisers, and which lists the following information: - Product description (batch and/or vat reference quantity entered - vintage - colour, etc.) - Precise and full identification of the entrant (trading name - business name - brand - address telephone number, etc.) Sampling is conducted by officials mandated by the Concours des Vins à Orange, who must obligatorily be accompanied by a cellar representative. Samples are taken in PPL-type white 50cl bottles: four per sample (three for competition, one that stays at the cellar). Entrants who enter wines that win an award in Competition, and the Competition organisers, each keep in their possession a sample of the award-winning wine accompanied by its factsheet and analysis report. These samples are kept at the inspection officials disposal for a period of one year, with effect from the competition event date. The factsheets and analysis reports of these samples are kept at the inspection officials disposal for a period of five years, with effect from the competition event date. If the entered batch comprises several vats, the sampler authorised by the Concours des Vins à Orange shall take a sample from each vat, proportional to their respective volumes, and blend them to form the sample. Each vat may only be entered once, either individually or as part of a multi-vat batch. If the entered batch is a batch of barriques, the sampler authorised by the Concours des Vins à Orange will take a sample from the barrique of his choice. The sampling sheet must be signed by the producer or his representative, and by the sampler. These samplings take place in the second and third weeks of January. Each entrant shall be advised by telephone of the date of these samplings. If sampling is not possible when the sampling official visits, the Concours des Vins à Orange reserves the right to cancel the entry (with no entry fee refunded). No further visit will be made.

4 ARTICLE 7 Conditions of tasting The wines entered for tasting by a jury are presented under conditions that ensure the anonymity of the samples. During sampling, samples are taken in PPL-type white 50cl bottles. An anonymous number is allocated to each wine sample entered, as soon as it arrives at the sample storage location, once the Competition General Manager has checked that the conformity between the sampling sheets, analysis reports and wine entry forms pertaining to each sample. The jury members conduct a blind tasting, and judge as per the requirements of the individual judging sheet. The Competition General Manager appoints a Jury Chairman, who must ensure that the tasting is conducted properly and who is invited to sign the Jury Chairman Charter. Each wine is tasted by a jury of at least three members, two-thirds of whom must be competent tasters. An entrant cannot judge his own wines. The Competition organisers take appropriate measures to prevent an entrant who is also a jury member from judging his own wines. The Competition organisers collect sworn statements from the jury members that list their direct and indirect links with companies, establishments, trade organisations and non-profit bodies whose activities, products or interests may involve wines entered in the Competition. The Competition jury members are selected from among Representatives of the Profession (producer, cellar director, oenologist, specialist wine retailer, cellarmaster, broker, négociant, lab technician, cellar technician), Representatives of the Restaurant Sector (restaurant owner, sommelier), and Experienced Tasters. The Competition General Manager approves the applications submitted by Experienced Tasters. The latter are selected for their tasting skills (participation in tasting trainings and courses, membership of tasting clubs) and their participation in the tasting trainings run by the Concours des Vins à Orange. ARTICLE 8 Awards Each jury can bestow one or more awards, namely: - Gold Medal - Silver Medal - Bronze Medal. The number of medals bestowed may not exceed 25% of the number of samples in competition. Any wine that wins an award at the Concours des Vins à Orange cannot enter said competition again. The wine s authenticity must be certified by relevant, reliable proof of traceability. The Concours des Vins à Orange delivers to the winners a document specifying the name of the Competition, the category in which the wine was entered, the awards bestowed, the wine identification details, the stated volume, and the award winner s name and address. The document can take the form of a certificate and/or diploma. Badges representing the awards may be stuck on the bottles, and are dispensed only by the bureau (board of senior officials) of the Concours des Vins à Orange. The badge design is a registered trademark owned by the Concours des Vins à Orange, with the rights pertaining thereto. Only this badge, rendered unforgeable by its security system, may represent an award bestowed by the Concours des Vins à Orange. Its reproduction on prices, advertising documents and the Internet, etc. is regulated. Every year, the Concours des Vins à Orange invites tenders from printing firms.

5 The name of the selected printing firm shall be announced when the Competition results are published. Any fraudulent use of the badges may result in legal action against the producer and his printer. The Competition organisers set up a internal inspection scheme, which complies with the provisions of the Ministerial Order of 23 February This scheme is under the responsibility of the Competition General Manager, who, in this capacity, checks the sworn statements provided by the jury members, and the conformity between the sampling sheets, analysis reports and wine entry forms. Two months before the Competition event, the organisers sent to the regional directorate for business, competition, consumption, labour and employment (DIRECCTE PAC) an advisory notice with the Competition date, venue and rules. Two months at most after the Competition event, the organisers send to DIRECCTE PACA a report signed by the internal inspection scheme manager, certifying that the Competition proceeded in compliance with the rules, and in particular stating: the number of wines entered in the Competition, overall and per category; the number of award-winning wines, overall and per category; the list of award-winning wines, and, for each one, the details identifying the wine and its owner; the percentage of entered wines that won awards; the number of distinctions bestowed, and their breakdown by type. The Concours des Vins à Orange is on the official list drawn up by the Minister in charge of consumer affairs, and is published in the Official Bulletin. The Competition rules are available on the Competition website: The Competition s results are published on its website at 3pm on the event day: