06/21/2010
STEPHAN HINZ IS CROWNED “G’VINE GIN CONNOISSEUR” IN THE “WORLD CUP” OF COCKTAIL COMPETITIONS, GERMAN BARTENDER TAKES TOP HONORS
Cognac, France June 21, 2010 This month, G’Vine, Gin de France completed its quest for the most exceptional Gin Bartender in the world. After a lengthy 9-month process, which involved rigorous exams, essays and exceptional cocktail creation, the brand crowned Stephan Hinz, from the Shepheard Bar in Köln, Germany, with the first-ever title of “G’Vine Gin Connoisseur.” Stephan was showered with over-the-top prizes including a year‘s supply of his own G’Vine, $3000 USD, a platinum pin and a luxury trip for two through Amsterdam, London and Paris to explore the past, present and future of Gin.

“Unlike other cocktail competitions where the focus is only on the end-use cocktail created by the bartender, the G’Vine Connoisseur Program was seeking a bartender with an unmatched knowledge and creativity – basically a bartender who is obsessed with Gin,” exclaimed Audrey Fort, EWG’s Marketing and Business Development Director. “These ‘Gin-tenders’ are a unique bunch, and G’Vine was determined to unearth the best of breed and properly bestow the talented contender with top honors and unprecedented awards.”

The competition began in October 2009, when G’Vine embarked on a worldwide search that was open to all bartenders, internationally. The first step included 5 “interactive modules” downloadable from the G’Vine website which made up an extensive overview of the gin category: the Complete History of Gin, Gin Making, G’Vine Education, Tasting Gin & Cocktails, and Gin Marketing. The twenty highest scoring competitors from each country were awarded with exclusive G’Vine tailor-made tools such as ice moulds and shakers.

The second step involved each candidate submitting a full dissertation about the art of Gin Marketing. The finalist’s essays are now available for public viewing at www.spirit-of-grape.com. The entrants impressed Duff, a veteran of the bartending competition circuit. "I've run half a dozen global bartender contests in the last decade, and I have never, ever seen such a high standard as demonstrated by the twelve Gin Connoisseur Finalists,” decrees Duff. “I have no doubt that when the dust settles at the end of the G'Vine Spring Ball, which concludes a week of challenges and once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Cognac and Paris, we will, without a doubt, crown the world's finest Gin Bartender".

In addition to ace-ing the exams, contenders also created an original G’Vine cocktail and include it on their bar‘s cocktail list, bringing additional points. The last challenge before the finals in Cognac was for them to write a blog entry, also now available at www.spirit-of-grape.com.

In June, after 6 demanding months with over 300 entrants from around the world, only the 12 best gin bartenders hailed to France, Paris and Cognac for a long weekend of competition and camaraderie, vying for the coveted, first-ever title of “G’Vine Gin Connoisseur”. The 12 finalists included:

Brian Mac Gregor, Jardiniere, San Francisco, USA
Damien Aries, Buddha Bar, Paris, France
Javier Bravo, Long Island Bar, Cork, Ireland
Martin Lange, Sling Lounge, West End, Australia
Mohamed Falil Din Jayah, Skyview Bar, Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
Nick Nemeth, Cocktails & Cordials, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Oron Lerner, Shila restaurant, Tel Aviv, Israel
Rob Poulter, Mix bar, Reading, UK
Ryan Duvenage, Bar Code Academy, Durban, South Africa
Spyros Patsialos, Faltso Bar, Athens, Greece
Stephan Hinz, Shepheard Bar, Cologne, Germany
Stefanos Paraskevoudis, James Cocktail Bar, Thessaloniki, Greece

After flying in from around the globe, a dozen bartenders plus assorted other participants descended upon Cognac to duke it out for the title of ultimate gin bartender. The illustrious Gary Regan served as the finalists' coach during the finale week in France, offering his guidance and expert advice throughout. G’Vine had the luxury to welcome Shawn Soole from Clive’s Classic bar in Chateau Victoria, BC, Canada, as extraordinary executive Barback, as well as Jay Hepburn from Oh Gosh TV and Darcy O’Neil from www.artofdrink.com as live bloggers.

G'Vine Gin has put significant emphasis on quality so some of the tests have turned out to be more difficult than some of the competitors suspected, but that's a good thing. As for extra-curricular activities, G'Vine offered the contestants one-of-a-kind experiences such as "make your own gin" which proved to everyone that making a good gin requires skill, a trip on a boat on the Charente river and some of the best gastronomic dinners in the region. The competition culminated at the G’Vine Spring Ball – where each contestant has to create, shake and serve 3 innovative G’Vine cocktails. All recipes are available upon request and day-by-day competition details can be found at www.artofdrink.com.

After an exhausting 3 days of challenges, drinking, traveling and assorted other activities, the winner of the G'Vine Connoisseur Competition was Stephan Hinz from Germany (Shepheard Bar in Cologne). Really, this wasn't an easy victory. Any one of the twelve bartenders could have challenged for the top position, but circumstances, preparedness and the ability to know when to go to bed were all factors.

The 2010 GCP has concluded for this year, however plans for next year’s competition are already in the works. This will be an annual event that will serve to test the gin know-how of a global group of talented bartending gin enthusiasts. The GCP is a unique cocktail competition that challenges more than just a bartender’s technical skill, but also his industry knowledge and passion for the history and behind the scenes, centuries old art of gin craftsmanship.

THE BUZZ FROM THE GLOBAL PARTICIPANTS

“The GCP is by far the most impressive bar tending competition I have ever seen, which truly tested the bartenders on every aspect of their drink making skill and knowledge - a far greater test than the traditional "make a few drinks for the judges" competition format. G'Vine have really raised the bar on what a bar tending competition requires of it's competitors”, Jay Hepburn, Oh Gosh TV, www.ohgo.sh

"The GCP is the most comprehensive and overall most challenging cocktail contest conceived the world over", Brian Mac Gregor, US finalist

"The most fabulous, intense and thorough competition I have ever encountered. It has been pretty incredible how much every aspect of the craft of tending a bar has been examined by all the different challenges. I have learned something from every single bartender I met", Javier Bravo, Ireland finalist

“If I were to summarize the GCP, I'd say it was a tremendous experience. It is a true competition in the sense that you're not judged against the other competitors, but judged against yourself and your own skills. Most of all, I’ve learned about myself as a bartender and this long chain of events called the GCP has given me countless ideas and inspiration in all that relates to this ancient role of serving drinks. The competition was one of a kind, at a quality and style unheard of before. A lot of thought was put into it - and that was evident. I honestly believe that should the GCP repeat itself, G'Vine and EWG will become a symbol of higher standard bartending and drinks.” Oron Lerner, Israel finalist.

“From start to finish, from test to test, event to event, this comp has been one of the most challenging and rewarding comps I ever encountered. The friendships forged in this competition will not be easily forgotten. And to know that you have a friend in 12 different countries is something you don’t get everyday. THANK YOU!”, Martin Lange, Australia finalist

“The success of this whole project, started a very long time ago, because you designed it very well from scratch. You've designed a beautiful bottle, a magnificent site on the internet and then you called us through the media. So, I believe that all this team who was behind that brilliant idea deserves CONGRATULATIONS. Believe me, although I co-operate with spirit companies in Greece for a few years, I've never seen and get so much respect. Thank you for that. Keep up the GREAT job, and please take care, because the cocktail industry needs guys like you out there”, Spyros Patsialos, Greece finalist.

“Thank you for all the workshops, challenges, charming authenticity; for this nice food and drinks, this pleasant boat ride, the vine flower picking and the opportunity to look at your distillery...... Thank you! You did a really good job!” Stephan Hinz, Germany finalist, the night before his crowning.

“Two things that really defined this competition for me though were the following: The idea of a bartender demonstrating some sort of knowledge of the craft outside of actually making a drink in a competition is not a new one but the GCP took this concept to an unprecedented level! Having to submit written essays, exams and blog posts, I believe really defined this competition from the start and the result was a group of finalists that I believe have a different focus to the bartenders seen at many other competitions. This more holistic approach is, in my opinion, what will ultimately elevate the craft of bartending and I applaud G’Vine and the GCP for sharing this vision. The second point that really made this competition unique for me was the use of Social Media – both in the promotion and running of the competition and amongst the finalists. I am not aware of any other bartending competition that has made such extensive use of bloggers, Facebook etc to raise awareness of the program and create a global community of competitors and spectators. The GCP must have been one of the most “Blogged” about topics of the last year amongst the cocktail/industry blogs and Audrey and Phillip did an outstanding job of keeping the global community updated and the GCP fresh in everyone’s minds – especially over such a long period! The finalists were also in a unique position to communicate over the months leading up to the finals and I think chatting on Facebook, status updates and sharing of information and ideas amongst ourselves definitely contributed to a feeling that we were all good friends by the time we met in Paris!” Ryan Duvenage, Finalist South Africa



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