The three-day event, which includes a wine festival celebrating the best wines from around the world, aims to spotlight a more dynamic market

Resorts World Sentosa is set to launch its inaugural Wine Pinnacle Awards, presented by Genting Singapore, that will run from October 10 to 12, 2019, at the Resorts World Convention Centre. This inspired event, which aims to present an unbiased showcase of the world's best wines, comprises of a gala dinner and awards ceremony on the first night, and a wine festival that stretches across the three days.

Unlike other wine award events, the celebrated wines are being selected by a jury of over 80 wine professionals from around the world—comprising Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, wine auctioneers, and sommeliers from top fine-dining restaurants—who have been given the chance to nominate their favoured sips without any restrictions on the origin, style of wine, or grape variety. What's more, there are no entry fees required and voting is done via a secure online balloting system.

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Resorts World Sentosa has also assembled a dedicated Wine Pinnacle Awards Committee, consisting of five of the industry's most trusted palates, to serve as guardians of the awards. Their main responsibilities include liaising with the professional jury on their nominated wines, monitoring and reviewing the nomination results for the 27 categories that include recognition towards mature wines that are ready to drink. They will be handing out accolades for the Best Bordeaux Wine from 1996, Best Burgundy White from 2008, Best Recent Releases, and Best Young Winemaker of the Year, among others. 

The most coveted recognition, though, is the Grand Jury Award, which will be chosen by the committee from amongst all winners from the other categories.

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Above Doug Frost, Master of Wine and Master Sommelier

THE BIG FIVE

The committee includes revered pundit Doug Frost, one of the few wine experts in the world holding both the prestigious Master of Wine and Master Sommelier titles. He explains: "The Wine Pinnacle Awards are the first awards that take into account the diverse global landscape of wine and, by drawing nominations from an unprecedented breadth of influencers worldwide, we believe that we will best represent the remarkable flowering of wine around the planet.”

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Above Kenichi Ohashi, Master of Wine
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Above Jeannie Cho Lee, Asia's first Master of Wine

Kenichi Ohashi, Master of Wine and fellow committee member, also mentioned how wonderful it is that “all wines, including the highly-regarded bottles, will have the chance to be nominated by leading wine professionals from around the world”. He adds: “It may bring dreams and new excitement to the global wine scene, contributing to a more dynamic wine industry.”

Joining them on panel are Swedish sommelier Andreas Larsson, who earned the coveted Best Sommelier in the World accolade in 2007; Robert Owen “Oz” Clarke, a British wine and spirits expert and wine writer, who also co-hosts BBC’s Oz and James Drink To Britain; and Jeannie Cho Lee, a successful author, TV host and editor who is also Asia's first Master of Wine.

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Above Andreas Larsson, Best Sommelier in the World 2007
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Above Robert Owen "Oz" Clarke

“Given that the Wine Pinnacle Awards is based on expert nominations instead of paid submissions, it opens up for an entire world of wines to be recognised and awarded," Lee adds. "For the first time, we are honouring deserving wine producers and wines that may otherwise fall under the radar of wine competitions." 

Of all the categories, though, Clarke is most excited about the nominations for the Best Organic/Natural Wine of the Year, as he strongly believes that organic wines "will become commonplace and perhaps even mainstream". 

With such a diverse range being celebrated, wine lovers will surely be looking to discover more than a few hidden gems, not to mention, those that won't break the bank. 

The event's selection of wines will arguably be the most extensive in Southeast Asia. But there will be fringe activities to help visitors get to know the wines better, including seminars and workshops by some of the biggest names in the industry, as well as wine pairing dinners at the integrated resort’s celebrity chef restaurants.

For more information and to register your interest, visit www.winepinnacle.com.

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