Guess what?
The results of the 2010 Indy International Wine Competition have been posted. Indy is tagged as the world's largest scientific wine competition (for whatever that's worth).
Aaronap Cellars received 3 medals for 3 entries!!! I entered the 2009 Chilean Chablis Chardonnay, the 2008 Chilean Malbec, and the 2008 Northern CA Zinfandel. All three wines received bronze medals!!!
Haven't got the judges comments yet, but I'm pretty darn pleased with myself!
Cheers,
Noel
Showing posts with label Medals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medals. Show all posts
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
WineMaker Magazine 2010 Conference Recap
It has been over a month since my last post--wow! Life has snuck up and kicked me in the knickers this past month and between work-related crud, traveling, my UC Davis winemaking class, & personal winemaking (more on that later), I just haven't found time to write much. But enough about me--let's get back to the wine.
Faithful (and patient) readers will recall that I was gearing up to go to the WineMaker Magazine 2010 Conference in Stevenson WA to see if my wines were received (and learn some other stuff too). At the end of May, I hopped on a plane for the West Coast. I thought I was lucky to get a direct flight from Boston Logan to Portland, OR, but I got a seat about 2 rows in front of a very small child who proceeded to scream her head off for the ENTIRE 5.5 hr flight. That was officially the longest flight I have ever been on in my life & I may have bulled over some folks making a dash for the exit door. I was wearing soft shoes, but I still apologize to anyone who has my footprints on their backs!
Fortunately, the drive up the Columbia River gorge on my way to the WA wine areas put me back in a better move. Unbelievable scenery! And such a dramatic change from the wet west side of the Cascade Mts to the dry eastern side. I had gone out a couple of days before the conference to spend some time in the WA wine growing areas which I haven't had a chance to visit until now (more on that later, too). Let's just paraphrase and say that I thoroughly enjoyed my wine tasting (my wallet didn't) and eventually ended up back in Stevenson for the conference, which was held at the Skamania Lodge overlooking the Columbia River. Gorgeous scenery--here's a picture of the view from the lodge. Nice, huh?
Of course, this was a serious conference so I spent the next 2 days inside at seminars on various winemaking topics like sanitation, proper yeast nutrient regimes, crafting award-winning wines, yeast biochemistry, growing grapes in the Pacific NW, etc. It was a good thing
that the weather was cool and rainy because otherwise it would have been difficult staying inside during the packed schedule. Also had the opportunity to meet a lot of fellow winemakers from across the USA & Canada, including some fellow New Englanders (Jason Phelps of Ancient Fire Wines in Londonderry, NH & Joanne Crawford of Crawford Estate Winery in Georgetown, MA). Who'd have thought I had to travel across the country to meet folks who live just a few miles from my house?
The kicker of the conference was the Awards Dinner on Saturday night. I had submitted a few wines and was nervously awaiting the results of how they fared. The awards were announced by varietal class, so I had to wait awhile to get to a category that I had entered. Chardonnay finally came along, and the words "Silver Medal to Noel Powell of Westford, MA" was music to my ears! I was a little dazed as I walked up to get my medal amongst thunderous applause (remember, it's my blog and I'll tell it like I recall it). A little while later in the Misc Red Vinifera category, I heard "Bronze Medal to Noel Powell of Westford MA for 2009 Chilean Malbec"! A second trip down the red carpet (OK, it was more of a orangey-brown color)!!!
Our table did quite well. Jason Phelps took home 9 (yes, count 'em-9) medals and Robbie Rogers also got a medal). We was happy campers!
I think the final picture says it all--talk about a kid in a candy store! Pretty darn pleased with how the wines were received (more on that later, too). Next year's conference is in Santa Barbara, CA, but I honestly haven't decided whether to attend or not. Going to have to weigh the cost, travel expenses, and what new info I'll get out of the seminars.
Salute,
Noel
Faithful (and patient) readers will recall that I was gearing up to go to the WineMaker Magazine 2010 Conference in Stevenson WA to see if my wines were received (and learn some other stuff too). At the end of May, I hopped on a plane for the West Coast. I thought I was lucky to get a direct flight from Boston Logan to Portland, OR, but I got a seat about 2 rows in front of a very small child who proceeded to scream her head off for the ENTIRE 5.5 hr flight. That was officially the longest flight I have ever been on in my life & I may have bulled over some folks making a dash for the exit door. I was wearing soft shoes, but I still apologize to anyone who has my footprints on their backs!
Fortunately, the drive up the Columbia River gorge on my way to the WA wine areas put me back in a better move. Unbelievable scenery! And such a dramatic change from the wet west side of the Cascade Mts to the dry eastern side. I had gone out a couple of days before the conference to spend some time in the WA wine growing areas which I haven't had a chance to visit until now (more on that later, too). Let's just paraphrase and say that I thoroughly enjoyed my wine tasting (my wallet didn't) and eventually ended up back in Stevenson for the conference, which was held at the Skamania Lodge overlooking the Columbia River. Gorgeous scenery--here's a picture of the view from the lodge. Nice, huh?
Of course, this was a serious conference so I spent the next 2 days inside at seminars on various winemaking topics like sanitation, proper yeast nutrient regimes, crafting award-winning wines, yeast biochemistry, growing grapes in the Pacific NW, etc. It was a good thing
that the weather was cool and rainy because otherwise it would have been difficult staying inside during the packed schedule. Also had the opportunity to meet a lot of fellow winemakers from across the USA & Canada, including some fellow New Englanders (Jason Phelps of Ancient Fire Wines in Londonderry, NH & Joanne Crawford of Crawford Estate Winery in Georgetown, MA). Who'd have thought I had to travel across the country to meet folks who live just a few miles from my house? The kicker of the conference was the Awards Dinner on Saturday night. I had submitted a few wines and was nervously awaiting the results of how they fared. The awards were announced by varietal class, so I had to wait awhile to get to a category that I had entered. Chardonnay finally came along, and the words "Silver Medal to Noel Powell of Westford, MA" was music to my ears! I was a little dazed as I walked up to get my medal amongst thunderous applause (remember, it's my blog and I'll tell it like I recall it). A little while later in the Misc Red Vinifera category, I heard "Bronze Medal to Noel Powell of Westford MA for 2009 Chilean Malbec"! A second trip down the red carpet (OK, it was more of a orangey-brown color)!!!
Our table did quite well. Jason Phelps took home 9 (yes, count 'em-9) medals and Robbie Rogers also got a medal). We was happy campers!
I think the final picture says it all--talk about a kid in a candy store! Pretty darn pleased with how the wines were received (more on that later, too). Next year's conference is in Santa Barbara, CA, but I honestly haven't decided whether to attend or not. Going to have to weigh the cost, travel expenses, and what new info I'll get out of the seminars.
Salute,
Noel
Monday, May 3, 2010
2010 AWCI Wine Competition Results Posted!
Had a little shot in the arm tonight when I got home and opened my email inbox to find that I had a message that the results of the Amateur Winemakers of Central Illinois 2010 Wine Competition had been posted. I was a little nervous as I opened the link to the results and scrolled down the list to find my name.
And there it was..... drumroll...... Jackpot!
Silver Medal -- 2008 Chilean Malbec
Silver Medal -- 2008 Chilean Syrah
Bronze Medal -- 2008 Northern CA Zinfandel
Bronze Medal -- 2009 Chilean Chardonnay v1 (my Chablis style chard)
Bronze Medal -- 2009 Chilean Chardonnay v2 (my Burgundian style chard)
I received medals on 5/6 wines that I entered! Interestingly the only wine that did not receive a medal was the 2008 Apple Wine that won a Gold Medal & Best of Show White at the 2009 Winepress.US competition. :) I think that just goes to show that not all judges taste the same so there is variability between competitions with the same wine.
Needless to say, I'm pleased as punch tonight! All 6 of these wines were also sent to the 2010 Winemaker Magazine Competition where the results will be released in 2 weeks at the upcoming Winemaker Conference that I will be attending. Gives me pretty high hopes that they will be received equally well.
In the meantime, I'm going to relax with a nice Italian white on this warm, humid evening and get caught up on some household chores that have been piling up. So goes the life of a home winemaker--always cleaning up after myself.
Cheers,
Noel
p.s. I'm well aware that this post probably serves as self-advertising and bragging. But hey--it's my blog & I'll brag if I wanna!
And there it was..... drumroll...... Jackpot!
Silver Medal -- 2008 Chilean Malbec
Silver Medal -- 2008 Chilean Syrah
Bronze Medal -- 2008 Northern CA Zinfandel
Bronze Medal -- 2009 Chilean Chardonnay v1 (my Chablis style chard)
Bronze Medal -- 2009 Chilean Chardonnay v2 (my Burgundian style chard)
I received medals on 5/6 wines that I entered! Interestingly the only wine that did not receive a medal was the 2008 Apple Wine that won a Gold Medal & Best of Show White at the 2009 Winepress.US competition. :) I think that just goes to show that not all judges taste the same so there is variability between competitions with the same wine.
Needless to say, I'm pleased as punch tonight! All 6 of these wines were also sent to the 2010 Winemaker Magazine Competition where the results will be released in 2 weeks at the upcoming Winemaker Conference that I will be attending. Gives me pretty high hopes that they will be received equally well.
In the meantime, I'm going to relax with a nice Italian white on this warm, humid evening and get caught up on some household chores that have been piling up. So goes the life of a home winemaker--always cleaning up after myself.
Cheers,
Noel
p.s. I'm well aware that this post probably serves as self-advertising and bragging. But hey--it's my blog & I'll brag if I wanna!
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