I have spent the last few weeks judging for a UK-based wine competition. In fact, at the risk of sounding ludicrously grand, I have been team leading; a role that is all about encouraging consensus and steering people away from the occasional off-the-wall decision.

My team have tasted everything from Chablis to Sherry and Chianti to Champagne and have done so, I think, with aplomb. As with all judging, the wines are presented blind and I am still waiting for the final list of the wines tasted. So, I do not yet know what wines have been identified as the pick of the crop.

What I do know is that wine tasting — even with a team of ‘wine experts’ — is rarely a united affair.

Take, for instance, Chianti. The styles varied enormously, with some of the wines being quite traditional with a leaning to more berry red fruits with smoky, leather aromas and bright acidity. Some of the others were richer with a more obvious creamy oak presence.

When wine is stylistically so far apart it is a real challenge to judge them together. And, as you might expect, one critic’s favourite was not necessarily their colleague’s dream Chianti.

Sherry was tougher still with some tasters being confused by the varying wine styles. An Amontillado sherry can, for instance, come in any number of shades depending on its age and, whilst these are most commonly dry, there are some sweetened examples around. The same is true of Oloroso.

You might think that the Champagne flight would have been an easier affair but the difficulty here was in indentifying value for money, with a heated debate ensuing about whether the ‘brand factor’ should be considered in the judging of a wine at all.

I have a well-documented cynicism about wine awards in general. No competition, no matter what the marketing folk tell you, is definitive and it is impossible to believe or expect each and every judge to be completely objective all of the time.

What then, is the point? Awards can help wine sales and they can draw attention to the lesser known and the up and coming. All of which is a good thing.

What awards must not do is quash or denigrate our own personal opinions.

It is great if a wine you love also happens to be a gold medal winner or if the sight of a gold medal on a label inspires you to try something new.

But, if your much-loved tipple seems to be naked of prizes, do not be put off.

It is perfectly possible the wine was never entered into any competition.

And, even if it was, it is important to remember that a panel of judges — no matter how distinguished — are simply expressing an opinion.

That does not make them masters of your personal choice.