Entries now open for G'Vine competition

Entries are now open for the 2013 G'Vine Gin Connoisseur Program (GCP) and this year local bartenders will be given the chance to compete in preliminary finals to claim a spot in the global contest.

Two Australian bartenders, Jessica Arnott (pictured) and Mischa Bonova, made it through to last year's global finals as wild card entries. This year, G'Vine's local distributor SouthTrade International will be organising preliminary finals to decide the national representative.

The cut-off date for registrations is April 1 and the best entries from across Australia will be chosen to compete in two separate preliminary finals, one in Sydney on April 15 and another in Melbourne on April 17. Renowned international bartender and GCP mentor, Philip Duff, will be a guest judge at both preliminaries and will also conduct seminars during his visit.

Since the GCP was launched in 2010 by G'Vine's parent company, EWG Spirits & Wine, each year's contest has had a different theme to it. For 2013 it will be L'édition Ambassadeur, which will celebrate the trend of bartenders becoming brand ambassadors. 

The national winners from participating countries, along with three global Wild Card entries, will be announced on May 1. They will fly out to Cognac, France for the global finals, to be held from June 9 to 14. 

After a week of bartender challenges and tests, the 2013 GCP champion will be decided and crowned. Part of the GCP champion's prize includes all-expenses-paid trips to present at Tales of the Cocktail and Bar Convent Berlin. 

Visit www.legcp.fr to register.

Source: The Shout, 4 March 2013