Nearly 2500 wines traveled to West Lafayette for one of the nation’s largest wine competitions, the Indy International Wine Competition, August 3-5 at Purdue University. Wines from 35 states and 15 countries - as far away as France, Australia, Chile, and Ethiopia - were judged on appearance, aroma, taste, and aftertaste by 52 international judges.
Williamette Valley Vineyards of Turner, Oregon was awarded Wine of the Year honors for its 2009 Riesling. White Wine of the Year honors went to Gray Monk Estate of Okanagan Centre, British Columbia for its 2010 Ehrenfelser. Kokomo Winery of Healdsburg, California won Red Wine of the Year for its 2008 Cabernet Franc. RosÈ Wine of the Year was awarded to Huber Orchard, Winery & Vineyards of Starlight, Indiana for its 2010 Catawba RosÈ.
Sparkling Wine of the Year honors went to Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards of Sonoma, California for its Carneros Cuvee. Saint Croix Vineyards of Stillwater, Minnesota took the Dessert Wine of the Year award for its 2009 LaCrescent.
Owen Valley Winery of Spencer, Indiana won Fruit Wine of the Year for its 2010 Timber Ridge Pear. Awards for the final two categories, Honey Wine of the Year and Honey Wine Blend of the Year, went to Vino Florida of Madeira Beach, Florida and to White Winter Winery of Iron, Wisconsin, respectively.
E&J Gallo Winery of Modesto, California was awarded the Winery of the Year Trophy, sponsored by the Leisure Family. The trophy honors the Best International Brand of the entire competition.
Huber Orchard, Winery & Vineyards of Starlight, Indiana was awarded the Winemaker of the Year Trophy, honoring the winery that wins the most gold medals by brand at the competition.
The Indy International Wine Competition began in 1973 as an Indiana-only event. The competition began admitting entries from around the world in 1992 under Richard Vine, PhD. Dr. Christian Butzke took over the competition’s leadership in 2006.
“Our 52 international judges picked some truly exceptional wines to receive recognition as Wines of the Year of the Indy International Wine Competition,” said Professor Butzke. ” The 2500 wines entered in the 2011 INDY provided an amazing glimpse at creative new wine styles and changing consumer preferences.”
Indiana was well represented in the competition, with 34 of the state’s 62 wineries entering. Hoosier wineries took home a total of 15 Double-Gold, 46 Gold, 115 Silver, and 75 Bronze medals.
“The Indiana wineries went head to head with wines from throughout the world and brought home 251 medals,” said Jeanette Merritt, marketing director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council. “Indiana wineries also were awarded several of the national trophies. This clearly shows that Indiana wines are of high quality and can be judged well against any wine in the world.”
Huber Orchard, Winery & Vineyards won The Governor’s Cup as the Indiana Winery of the Year, recognizing the winningest Indiana winery. Huber also won Indiana Wine of the Year with its 2010 Vignoles.
The Indy International has a special award division for Indiana-grown wines. A wine must be composed of more than 85% Indiana-grown fruit to be eligible. Monkey Hollow Winery of St. Meinrad won Indiana-Made Traminette of the Year, honoring Indiana’s Signature Wine and Grape. Owen Valley Winery of Spencer won the Indiana-Grown Fruit Wine of the Year for its 2010 Timber Ridge Pear. Huber Orchard, Winery & Vineyard won the French-American Wine category for its 2010 Vignoles. Huber Orchard, Winery & Vineyards also won the Indiana-Grown American Wine of the Year for its 2010 Catawba. Turtle Run Winery of Corydon won the Indiana-grown Vinifera Wine of the Year for its 2010 Chardonnay.
The Indy International Wine Competition is held at Purdue University and run by the Indiana Wine Grape Council. For a list of all medal-winning wines, log on to www.indyinternational.org.
The Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2008 is a vibrant wine that was a wonderful addition to a recent meal at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis. I attended the special dinner, hosted by Conference Direct, after a short walk from my hotel near Busch Stadium. It was a hot and sticky evening, but a pleasant walk along the Mississippi.
that: 1. M de la Fruitiere Muscadet, 2. Londer Gewurztraminer, 3. Scott Harvey Barbera, 4. Alexandria Nicole Quarry Butte. $8 per flight or nominal fee per sample.
