The Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition is another option for a credible third party  endorsement. Yes, more and more people are depending on their peers for wine reviews; however, once they hit that supermarket shelf, they’re still wowed by numbers and medals. Another endorsement, beyond their own friends, still has a way of sealing the deal. Most people still don’t want to purchase something as a gamble, most especially on higher priced ticket items.
 
Top Sommeliers Focus of New Wine Competition San Diego, Calif. – Having wines tasted by some of the nation’s top restaurant sommeliers is the wine salesperson’s hope. Receiving a Platinum, Gold or Silver award from this same elite group is the marketer’s dream. Both opportunities are presented in a new international wine competition – the Sommelier Challenge, debuting the weekend of September 26-27, 2009.

Created by respected competition director and syndicated wine writer Robert Whitley, the Sommelier Challenge is the second in his “challenge” series of wine competitions. Whitley created the Critics Challenge six years ago, featuring noted wine journalist judges who issue quotable comments to award-winning wines. Whitley also directs the San Diego and Monterey international wine competitions, and is publisher of Wine Review Online, the Internet’s respected wine journal.

“Sommeliers are on the front line with consumers. They are the wine mavens who influence what wines you try and what wines end up on a restaurant list. The Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition gives wineries a chance to put their wines in front of these influencers and receive an award they can market,” says Whitley. Twelve sommeliers will judge this year’s competition representing restaurants such as The French Laundry (Yountville), Per Se ( New York City ), Charlie Trotter’s ( Las Vegas ), and Sona ( Los Angeles ), among others. The competition deadline is August 31, 2009. A complete list of judges, entry information and form can be found