Record breaking year for long-running Texas Wine Competition
Dallas, Texas – TEXSOM Co-founders and Master Sommeliers Drew Hendricks and James Tidwell today announced the results for the 2015 TEXSOM International Wine Awards. With a record for the most entries in the competition’s 31-year history, the TEXSOM International Wine Awards is the most successful yet.
Founded in 1985 by Rebecca Murphy, a widely respected wine writer in Dallas, what has become known as the TEXSOM International Wine Awards was purchased in 2014 by Tidwell and Hendricks. Murphy founded and grew the competition to be one of the largest, most respected, and longest-running competitions in the United States.
“I’m thrilled by the success of the competition this year,” said Murphy. “James and Drew have clearly demonstrated that under their leadership the TEXSOM International Wine Awards has a very bright future. I don’t think I could have chosen a better pair to continue my work and my vision for continued growth and innovation.
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The 2015 TEXSOM International Wine Awards received close to 3,600 entries, which was up roughly 30% from the previous year and a record for the 31-year-old competition. Of the 2,601 entries that were awarded medals, 14% received gold medals, 35% silver medals, and 51% bronze medals. Entries in the 2015 TEXSOM International Wine Awards were a true representation of the world of wine, with wines from 21 different countries and 15 states, and ranging in price from $2.99 to almost $200 per bottle. All winners have been announced, and the winning wines are listed on the Texas Monthly website at http://www.texasmonthly.com/TIWA2015. Texas Monthly was the presenting sponsor, and has been instrumental in promoting the competition.
“This was a true team effort,” said Tidwell. “Many thanks go to all the judges, volunteers, and staff who made this year’s competition the best ever. It’s a testament to their efforts and to the TEXSOM reputation that so many wineries chose to enter their wines. We believe that the caliber of all those involved is what makes this competition so special and why the medals mean so much.”
Unique among all other wine competitions, the TEXSOM International Wine Awards involved 28 sommeliers (separate from the judges) and two editors who have written detailed descriptions of a selection of medal winners. These notes will be highlighted in a daily Featured Wines section of the TEXSOM website over the course of the year. In addition, the organizers of TEXSOM will host a series of tastings, dinners, and other events around the United States, and have numerous promotional partners around the country who will be featuring award-winning wines. A list of promotional partners may be found on the TEXSOM International Wine Awards website at http://www.dallaswinecomp.com.
In addition to the 28 sommeliers, the TEXSOM International Wine Awards was supported by 68 judges, more than 50 volunteers and eight staffers working together to make the competition happen. A list of judges may be found on the website at http://www.dallaswinecomp.com.
ABOUT TEXSOM
Founded in 2005, TEXSOM was started by Master Sommeliers James Tidwell and Drew Hendricks to help promote professional wine service standards, outline paths for further wine education and certification, and raise public awareness about the professional standards and certifications for sommeliers. Today the conference draws a total of 900 attendees, of whom 700 are sommeliers and other beverage industry professionals. The TEXSOM group purchased The Dallas Morning News and TEXSOM International Wine Competition in April 2014 and now operates the competition as the TEXSOM International Wine Awards.
