As a judge at the 33rd annual Indy International Wine Competition held this July 27 thru 29th at the Indiana State Fairgrounds outside Indianapolis, I was privileged to taste, along with nearly 90 other wine professionals, an amazing selection of wines from around the globe. With 3859 wines entered, (up from 3685 in 2005), this year’s Indy became the King of the Hill, with more entries than any other wine competition in the country. This is due in part to the large number of amateur wines entered (835), but nonetheless, it is a formidable collection. The professionalism of the competition organizers, largely from Purdue University, is in a class by itself, and many of my fellow judges said the same. When you are evaluating over 120 wines per day, you need things to run smoothly. And you need an uninterrupted supply of tree-ripened Graber olives, the staple of all decent wine competitions, to keep the palate clean and fresh.