Varsity blind wine tasting match

The Varsity Blind Wine Tasting Match is a series of annual competitions in blind wine tasting between the Oxford University Blind Wine Tasting Society and the Cambridge University Blind Wine Tasting Society; the blind wine tasting teams of the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews;[1] and the blind wine tasting teams of the University of Bath and Bristol University. It is sponsored by champagne house Pol Roger.[2] The Oxford/Cambridge competition has run since 1953. The current Oxford/Cambridge convenor is James Simpson, Master of Wine (MW). Will Lyons is a judge for the Edinburgh/St Andrews competition[3]

The winning teams are invited to Épernay, France to visit the vineyards of Pol Roger and compete in an international tasting match against a French university. The taster with the highest individual score wins a bottle of Pol Roger's top cuvee, Sir Winston Churchill. The reserve taster with the higher score wins a subscription to Decanter Magazine. The losing team each wins a bottle of Non Vintage Pol Roger.

Judges
A formally dressed man sits at a table with several wine glasses on it
Wine expert Hugh Johnson judging during the 2003 competition.

For the Oxford v Cambridge competition there are two judges, one nominated by each team. In 2008 and 2009, the Oxford judge was Jancis Robinson MW, and the Cambridge judge was Hugh Johnson. Past judges have included Jasper Morris MW (who also judged in 2014). The papers are marked anonymously and cross-checked by both judges in order to ensure impartiality.

Winners

Team Overall Competition Oxford v Cambridge

Cambridge (26 victories in total) including: 1994, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2022

Oxford (42 victories in total) including: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023


Top Individual Tasters

2009: Caroline Conner (Ox)

2010: James Flewellen (Ox)

2011: James Flewellen (Ox), 152 points

2012: Ren Lim (Ox)

2013: Tom Arnold (Ox) and Stefan Kuppen (Cam), 140 points [joint]

2014: Vaiva Imbrasaite (Cam), 195 points

2015: Swii Yii Lim and Yee Chuin Lim (both Ox) [joint]

2016: Qian (Janice) Wang (Ox), 173 points

2017: Jit Hang (Jackie) Ang (Ox), 143 points

2018: Neil Alacha (Ox), 160 points

2019: Emelyn Rude (Cam)

2020: Gianmarco Luppi (Ox)

2021: Yee Kwan Law (Ox)

2022: Emer Jones (Cam)

2023: Ian Cheung (Oxford)

University of Edinburgh v University of St Andrews competition
YearWinning TeamTop Individual Taster
2013Edinburgh
2014Edinburgh
2015EdinburghMaciej Pajak
2016Edinburgh
2017Edinburgh
2018EdinburghMegan Haines
2019EdinburghYu Jin Ooi
2020EdinburghArthur Ng
2021St AndrewsArthur Ng
2022EdinburghArthur Ng
2023EdinburghJamie H.M. Stuart-Smith

References
  1. "Blind wine tasting".
  2. https://www.polroger.co.uk/sponsorship/
  3. Lyons, Will. "Wine review: Will Lyons's blind wine tasting test".
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