2011 Medal Roll Call

The end of 2011 is almost upon us and I've received the results from the last competition that I had entered.  Hate to self-brag, but since this is my blog, I'll brag if I want to!!  I took a step back from competitions and only entered wines in 3 this year, Winemaker Magazine, American Wine Society, & the Amenti del Vino Classic.  This was mainly due to a little lull in my wine production as i wanted to let the reds age for longer than I have previously.  I had intended to get wine submitted to the Indy International competition, but ran into scheduling difficulties and hot weather that was not conducive to shipping.  But I believe that these competitions are some of the best for amateurs, and I'm pretty pleased with how my wines fared.

2011 Winemaker Magazine Competition
Silver:    2008 Northern CA Zinfandel
Bronze:  2009 MA Apple
Gold:     2010 VT Maple Syrup "Ice-Wine"

2011 American Wine Society Amateur Competition
Bronze:  2006 WA Chardonnay
Bronze:  2009 MA Apple
Bronze:  2009 Chilean Syrah
Bronze:  2010 VT Maple Syrup "Ice-wine"

2011 Amenti del Vino Classic
Bronze:  2010 Sparkling Concord
Gold:     2009 MA Apple
Gold:     2009 Chilean Syrah
Gold:     2010 VT Maple Syrup "Ice-wine"

Once again, I find the disparity between competitions to be rather interesting and humorous.  The VT Maple Syrup "Ice-wine" was the most consistent & highest winner with 2 gold medals (perhaps the AWS judges just didn't know how to rank such a unique wine).  And I finally took a gold medal with a dry red wine!

Competitions aren't the only way to get feedback on one's wines and I know all of these wines have been highly enjoyed by my friends and family (which means more to me than a medal).  Perhaps the best affirmation I received was a comment from the recent American Wine Society Conference after the Friday night Amateur Wine Experience:  "You made the Maple Syrup wine?  That was simply awesome!"

Salute,
Noel