Ware Wine & Beer Circle

	WARE WINE & BEER CIRCLE
ANNUAL SHOW

Word Entry Form PDF Entry Form
Programme Classes in Show Definitions of Classes Awards Competition Rules

The 44th Annual Show will be held at the Thundridge Village Hall on 18 July 2026.

Programme of Events
9.15am to 9.45am	Entries to arrive
9.30am to 9.45am	Judges to arrive
10.00am to 12.30pm	Judging of Entries
12.45pm to 1.30pm	Lunch
1.30pm to 2pm	Entries to be collected
2pm	Close
For further details of the Show and/or a schedule and entry form, please contact the
Show Schedule
The classes are as follows: Table Dry White Table Dry Red Table Rose Dry / Medium * White Social Medium Sweet to Sweet Red Social Medium Sweet to Sweet Aperitif Dry / Medium * (any colour) (oxidised/herb/citrus) Liqueur (fortified) * Vegetable or Leaf, including Tea, Dry / Medium / Sweet B1 Lager ** (Light Lager/Heavy Lager/Black Lager) B2 Pale Ale (Pale Ale/Bottled Bitter/IPA) B3 Dark Beer (Dark Mild/Dry Stout/Sweet Stout/Oatmeal Stout/Porter/Brown) B4 Continental Beer ** (Wheat/Rye/Belgian Strong Ales/Fruit) * please specify whether dry or medium please specify whether oxidised, herb or citrus * please specify whether fruit, herb/spice, cream, chocolate or coffee ** please specify the type of beer entered *** please specify whether dry/medium/sweet Return to top of page
Definitions of Classes
1. WHITE TABLE DRY Pale colour is a pre-requisite and wine should have no pink or brown tone. The wine should taste dry without any easily recognisable sweetness. The flavour should be light and pleasant, with no bitter after-taste, and should give an impression of freshness, leaving the palate clean. Alcohol 8.5%-13% and Acidity 0.5%-0.8%. Bouquet should be clean, fragrant and vinous. Examples - White Burgundy, Alsace, dry Loire wines such as Muscadet and Sancerre.
2. RED TABLE DRY The colour should be mainly red; tints of purple or black are acceptable; older wines may appear tawny. The wine must be dry, i.e. without any easily recognisable sweetness. The flavour can be substantial and should remain in the after-taste. Some astringency from tannins is expected, with some mellowness and maturity desirable. The bouquet should be complex and vinous. Alcohol 10%-14% and Acidity 0.45%-0.65%. Examples - Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rioja, etc.
3. ROSE TABLE DRY / MEDIUM Rose wine should be pink; variations in colour intensity and slight orange or 'onion skin' tints are acceptable. The flavour must be light, fruity and fresh, and the bouquet should reflect these points. There should not be excessive astringency, but tannins may be quite noticeable in the dry wine. Alcohol 10%-12%; Acidity 0.55%-0.9% Tartaric. Examples - dry Tavel rosé, medium Anjou Rosé.
4 & 5. SOCIAL WINES A wine for drinking on social occasions, often unaccompanied by food. The wine should be smooth and well-balanced, and leave the palate clean. Alcohol content 10-15%, medium sweet or sweet. Should be more highly flavoured than table wines, but less so than after dinner wines.
6. APERITIF ANY COLOUR This is a wine drunk before a meal and is intended to stimulate the appetite. It may range from dry to medium. It should have sufficient acid to taste fresh and leave the palate clean. Aperitifs are often high in alcohol - 14%-17% - but this is not essential. There are three main types - Oxidised - dry or medium sherry Herbal or Spiced - vermouth style Citrus - no commercial equivalent
7. LIQUEUR FORTIFIED Home-made liqueurs are strong, sweet, highly flavoured after dinner drinks. They are usually produced by steeping fruit and other basic ingredients in alcohol, with the addition of sugar to give a strong, sweet, highly-flavoured after-dinner drink. Sometimes a high-alcohol/highly-flavoured wine is used as a base and is heavily fortified later. The alcohol should be in the form of an unflavoured spirit, e.g. Polish Spirit, Vodka, Gin. Classify entry as Fruit base, Chocolate/Coffee base, Cream base or Herb/Spice base.
8. Vegetable or Leaf,including Tea, Dry/Medium/Sweet
BEER CLASSES Definitions of the various beer styles allowed can be found on the Internet. For NGWBJ definitions see http://www.ngwbj.org.uk/beer_styles.html. For BJCP defintions, see http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_guidelines.pdf

Class	Description	NGWBJ Classes	BJCP Classes
B1	Lager	Light Lager Heavy Lager	1A/1B. American Lager 2. International Lager 3. Czech Lager 4. Pale Malty European Lager 6. Amber Malty European Lager 8. Dark European Lager
B2	Pale Ale	Pale Ale / Bottled Bitter India Pale Ale	5. Pale Bitter European Beer/Ale 11. British Bitter 12. Pale Commonwealth Beer 18. Pale American Ale 21A. American IPA
B3	Dark Beer	Dry Stout Sweet Stout Porter Dark Mild	9C. Baltic Porter 13. Brown British Beer 15B/15C. Irish Stout 16. Dark British Beer 17B. Old Ale 20. American Porter and Stout
B4	Continental Beer		7. Amber Bitter European Beer 10. German Wheat Beer 23. European Sour Ale 24. Belgian Ale 25. Belgian Strong Ale 26 Trappist Ale 29. Fruit Beer

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Awards

A single certificate will be awarded showing all places gained. In addition to the certificate, the following trophies are awarded to the first place winners of each class.

Table Dry White	Joan Devine Trophy
Table Dry Red	Tarling DIY Shield
Table Rose Dry / Medium	Southern Vineyard Trophy
Social White	Secretary Trophy
Social Red	Ware Shield
Aperitif Dry / Medium	Latton Trophy
Liqueur Fortified	Bill Killen Trophy
Most Points in Beer Classes	Concorde Trophy
2nd Most Points in Beer Classes	Arthur Allen Trophy

Most Successful Ware Wine & Beer Circle member in Wine Classes	Place House Bowl
Best Wine of Show for a Ware Wine & Beer Circle member	Saffron Walden Trophy
Best Beer of Show for a Ware Wine & Beer Circle member	Ware Brewer of the Year

The above trophies are to be retained for one year only.

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Competition Rules

Entries must be made on the entry form and sent to the by the date shown on the entry form. No late entries will be accepted on the day of the Show. Any entries received after the closing date will only be accepted at the discretion of the Show Secretary.
Entries must be delivered and collected at the stated times only. Staging will be carried out by the appointed stewards.
All wine entries must have been made by the competitor by the process of fermentation (except for liqueurs).
Wine bottles must be of the Sauternes type, clear glass, punted, 70-75 cl capacity. Bottles should be filled to between 1/4" and 3/4" from the bottom of the cork. Liqueurs are to be presented in clear 37.5cl bottles.
Corks must be of the flanged type with white plastic tops. Capsules must not be fitted.
Beer must be exhibited in one pint or 500ml brown glass bottles without distinguishing or commercial marks, and sealed with a gold-coloured crown cap. The bottles should be filled to between 1/2" and 1" from the bottom of the cap.
Labels will be provided by the Show Secretary, one for each entry. The label should be fixed to the lower part of the bottle, midway between the side seams with the lower edge of the label 1" from the base of the bottle.
Exhibitors may make a maximum of two entries in any one WINE class, which must be from different fermentations, but may only obtain one award in any class. Exhibitors may make a maximum of three entries in any one BEER class, which must be from different brews, but may only obtain one award in any class.

Judging will be in accordance with N.G.W.B.J. rules. The judges decision is final.

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For further information, contact:

Last updated: 12/05/26