The Golden Masque Wine tasting & Writing contest

Prelude

A while back Lady Lunarisse Aspenstar held a writing contest for capsuleers to join in. Due to the quality of the contestants, she delayed the result of the contest till the Wine & Spirit tasting at the Golden Masque in order to properly judge their entries. This also had the added benefit that most contestants could be present at the final unveiling of the winners of her writing contest!
On top of this, one could enjoy some fine exclusive drinks in between the various announcements, offering a variety of subjects to talk about!
For the sake of clarity the article will be split in two however, the first part will be about the Wine, Beer & Spirits tasting itself and the second part will go deeper into the announcement of the winners of the writing contest!
I like to thank Lady Morwen Lagann for her generosity in hosting both events at the venue.

The November Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting

Upon entry of the Golden Masque venue, one could spot a nice variety of stands to have a tasting of their particular wines, beers & spirits. The many stands will be summed up below:

- The central stand was occupied by Lord Lucas Raholan, who's exclusive and limited wine 'Chenin Blanc Raholan' is renowned for its quality. To have a chance to taste this wine is a rare opportunity and an honour. - I-RED provided a selection of their spirits normally available in their Lounge.
- New Eden Life, publicized by Evelyn Meiyi was also present with a selection of her wines, among it a fine Pinot Gris 110.
- Steffanie Saissore offered her Peach Brandy for the tasting, a quality product of her own private distillery.
- Tyrathlion Interstellar tasting stand presented two young vintages from the Vitalia Estate a red wine and a curious Zydrine variant, a remarkable green-hued wine!
- Lady Anise Tig'res offered something quite different & creative; an exquisite chocolate creme cocktail!

The wide selection of beverages for tasting assured the Golden Masque Wine, Beer & Spirit tasting event to be a great success! The large crowd being present was a testimony to this success.
For the most time, the event went flawless, people enjoying the variety of drinks to try out and the hors d'oeuvres offered by the staff to silent the stomach. People had a great time, tasting the various wines and other drinks on display, often trying new things and be delighted.

During this, I had a chance to talk with Lord Lucas Raholan on the reasons for his limited production of the renowned 'Chenin Blanc Raholan'. It turns out that in the past, raiders had burned the winery and countryside to the ground, but he assured me the culprits have been caught and dealt with. On top of this, the rebuilding is practically finished, hopefully being able to produce his wine in a larger volume in the future to satisfy the numerous connoisseurs.

Amidst all the tasting & talks, Lady Lunarisse Aspenstar often called for attention, in order to announce the various winners of the capsuleer writing contest. This was a great way to introduce an enjoyable new subject to the numerous discussions already going on.
Alll in all, a good time was had by most attendants. The only negative commotion came when security caught someone trying to discretely hand over Crash. Considering the Golden Masque is located aboard a Concord Station in Yulai, the surveillance is top notch and tolerance for illegal acts is zero!
To top it off, someone tried to 'save' the situation by claiming the Crash was hers, not of the person caught in the act! Naturally, Security responded by removing both rule-breakers from the premises.

Despite the rapid response of security, Lady Morwen Lagann was distraught by this commotion, as she takes great pride in her venue, keeping it a classy place where capsuleers can feel welcome. Luckily, most attendants didn't pay much attention to it and once the trouble-makers were removed, they happily went back to their various discussions, among it a lengthy discussion about the peculiar & strange Zydrine wine. It was certainly not a wine for everyday occurrences or for everyone's taste, but it was surely a great way to break the ice at parties!

As it grew late, the discussions slowly shifted to the more philosophical kind you often find when people become tipsy and the crowd thins out. All in all, it was a great event! But keep reading if you want to know who all won in the Capsuleer writing contest!

New Eden Capsuleer Writing Contest: The winners!

During the event, Lady Lunarisse Aspenstar called for attention 3 times, each time to announce the winners of a certain category! Indeed, due to the high quality of the contestants, she decided to split up the writing contest in 3 parts, in order to give everyone a fair chance! In total there were 23 submissions!
Submissions divided over the 3 parts: Poetry(12 submissions), Prose(7 submissions) and Non-Fiction(4 submissions).
Later on these submissions will be published in New Eden Life, by Evelyn Meiyi. A direct link to the publication of the winning submissions will be published once available! Now follows the list of all winners & the prizes they won!

Poetry

1st place: Aldrith Shutaq (Prize: 250 million isk)

2nd place: Karynn Denton (Prize: 150 million isk)

3rd & 4th place (tie): Adala Anduin & Arista Shahni (Prize: 150 million isk shared equally)

5th place: Raphael Ordo (Prize: 25 million isk)

6 to 12th Place: 2 million isk per submission

Prose

1st place: Literia (Prize: 250 million isk)

2nd place: Alabath Schmidt (Prize: 150 million isk)

3rd place: Jade Blackwind (Prize: 100 million isk)

4th place: Louella Dougans (Prize: 50 million isk)

5 to 7th place: 2 million isk per submission

Non-Fiction (News/Treaties/etc.)

1st place: Nicoletta Mithra (Prize: 250 million isk)

2nd place: Steffanie Saissore (Prize: 150 million isk)

3rd & 4th place (tie): Jandice Ymladris & Ashlar Maidstone (Prize: 102 million isk shared equally)

Bonus prizes

Best female writer: Literia (Prize: an exclusive full black ensemble)

Best Templar (Dust Mercenary) writer: Thal Vadam (Prize: a bottle of wine)

An interesting tidbit was that most of the Poetry submissions were sent in by Amarr, while the Prose submissions were dominated by the Minmatar. Also, all winners except one will be published in New Eden Life. The only one who omitted from seeing her winning entry published is Alabath Schmidt. In her place, the 5th contestant in Prose, Quintrala, will see her submission published!

A thanks to both Lady Morwen Lagann & Lady Lunarisse Aspenstar for hosting the event in The Golden Masque and for organizing both great events! Things like this are an excellent showcase for the more cultural interests that capsuleers have!