We wine writers love wine awards. When we win, that is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember one evening when I was shortlisted three times for the Roederers. You have to fancy your odds when you are shortlisted that many times. I came away with nothing. Of course, I was delighted for the winners. And the winners are always \u2018humbled\u2019 to have won, when they tell the world the good new on their social media feeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve won a few in my time, but nowhere near as many as some\nof my colleagues who seem to be serial award winners. I think the key is to\neither deliberately write award-winning style articles, or to deliberately\ntarget one of the more niche awards with a few entries. [Of course, you also\nhave to write well \u2013 that\u2019s a given; and you can\u2019t have too many enemies on the\njudging panel, either.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of my problems with these awards, though, is that they require a small number of specific entries. Usually, three to five of them. This suits people who write well researched, longer feature articles. It doesn\u2019t suit those of us who specialize in digital, and use their channels to put out lots of smaller items of content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think there should be room for judging a body of work. For\nexample, rewarding someone with a particularly fine Instagram feed \u2013 not judging\nthem on just three Instagram posts over a 12 month period. Or, for a blogger:\nlook at their output. It\u2019s easy enough to spend some time browsing through a\nblog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there are somewhat contrived categories that are\noften there to satisfy sponsors. It takes away a little from writing awards if\nthe categories are very narrow or specialist: you end up with very high quality\nentries in the more significant category, and fewer, less good ones in the\nnarrow ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s always good to enter. Whether you win or lose, it\u2019s\njust the way it is. If you win: bonus. If you don\u2019t, it doesn\u2019t mean you aren\u2019t\ngood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the awards I\u2019ve entered and have won or been\nshortlisted in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards https:\/\/theroedererawards.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards https:\/\/www.fortnumandmason.com\/events\/food-and-drink-awards<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n James Beard Awards Andre Simon Drink Book Awards http:\/\/www.andresimon.co.uk\/awards.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.jamesbeard.org\/awards<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n