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A Brief Overview of the Clash and Methodology
- Who: Andrew Hall is the primary organizer and executive of the Ohio vs Michigan Wine Clash. Slow Food Columbus is the primary sponsor as part of its Taste Education program and support of local agriculture and artisanal food industries.
- Goal: To create a consumer-oriented and
quality-driven wine competition that raises the awareness of wines from both states and leads to more demand at the retail
and restaurant level.
- History: This event
was created as the first consumer-sponsored wine competition to feature only locally-grown and produced wines from Ohio and
Michigan. Demand for locally-sourced food has grown across all market segments, but wine has not followed this trend due to
misperceptions about quality and cost. By linking the competition with the storied football rivalry, this competition highlights
the wines of both states in a unique fashion and helps drive consumer demand. The event was first held in 2008 and repeated in 2009. This is intended to be an annual event.
- Sources: Only wines whose grapes are exclusively grown in their respective states were eligible.
The selection panel sampled and selected wines that were representative of each state with an emphasis on quality. Recommendations
from professional critics and other wine competitions were also considered. Selection alone for this competition is recognition
of merit. Wines were sourced retail, purchased from the wineries and donated by the wineries. There were no industry or government
sponsorships.
- Methods : Separate judging
events were conducted in Ann Arbor and Columbus with all wines being tasted blind. Judges were a mixture of wine retailers,
restaurant proprietors, accredited wine professionals, wine enthusiasts and writers. All judges were unpaid volunteers. The
wines were arranged in flights of White/Rosé, Red and Dessert. All wines were rated on a 20pt scale and then ranked within their peer group. After all three flights, the judges discussed and ranked their top three wines overall. These rankings determined the overall
winners for that night. The determination of the Michigan panel and the Ohio panel were then given equal weight to determine
the overall Clash winners.
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