Your next dinner party, visit with friends or any other occasion which calls for a great bottle of wine will be a lot easier to find the perfect wine with right in your own backyard according to international judging this month.
The rising stars of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail racked up a stellar showing at last week’s 30th Annual International Wine Judging event hosted by Tasters Guild International. In fact eight of the winery stops along the Trail came home with a total of 75 medals ranging from Bronze to Double Gold — the highest honor achievable in the international competition where wineries from eight countries and 27 states or provinces were represented.
Especially noteworthy for our region was the performance of St. Julian Winery which garnered 14 medals under their St. Julian label and 9 more for their Braganini Reserve brand. Of the 14 St. Julian wines, five were Double Gold and another five were Gold. Among the Braganini Reserve wines, 1 earned Double Gold and 2 garnered Gold. As a result of their overwhelming performance, St. Julian was awarded the “2017 Most Gold Medals” trophy, outpacing every other winery in the chase including wineries from California, Virginia, Italy, Spain, Argentina, New York, and Australia among others.
Other wineries along the Trail walked away with plenty of medals too including 15 for Fenn Valley Vineyards, 10 each for Domaine Berrien Cellars and Karma Vista Winery, 9 for Tabor Hill, 5 for White Pine Winery and 3 for 12 Corners Winery.
Tasters Guild International is a Wine & Food Appreciation Society based in Grand Rapids with administrative offices in Washington, D.C. The 30th Annual International Wine Judging event was staged from May 3rd through the 6th, utilizing 30 experienced judges from around the country. Judges come from a broad range of expertise including retailers, winemakers, wine writers, restaurateurs, wine educators and experience consumers. They completed more than 1,400 tasting evaluations.
As part of the total wine evaluation process, nearly 35-percent of the wines entered were randomly chosen for re-evaluation to verify the accuracy and fairness of medal consideration.
Joe Borello is President of the Tasters Guild. He says, “By sponsoring this wine judging event, it is the objective of Taster Guild to give the consumer a reference point in choosing quality wine values.” He adds, “Tasters Guild recommends any wine judging results or tasting evaluations be used only as an informational guide for consumers in establishing personal preferences. However, with our re-evaluation procedure, we take extra precautions to appraise wines as accurately as possible.”
Of special interest this year was the superior quality of the wine created by winemakers, which led Borello to comment, “An outstanding array of vinifera, hybrid, labrusca and fruit other than grape came together from all over the world with exceptional wines produced from a wide range of grape varieties. Wineries are growing and processing the best fruit possible for their region and selecting varieties to produce excellent signature wines for the consuming public to experience.”
Here’s how wineries from the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail scored on a variety of styles:
Winery Varietal/Proprietary Name Vintage State Medal
12 Corners Winery Aromella 16 MI GG
12 Corners Winery Cabernet Franc 14 MI GD
12 Corners Winery Riverstone White 16 MI SL
Braganini Reserve Albarino 16 MI GD
Braganini Reserve Blanc de Noirs NV MI BR
Braganini Reserve Cabernet Franc 13 MI SL
Braganini Reserve Chancellor Noir 14 MI SL
Braganini Reserve Gruner Veltliner 16 MI GG
Braganini Reserve Merlot 13 MI SL
Braganini Reserve Riesling Mountain Rd Estate 16 MI GD
Braganini Reserve Traminette 16 MI SL
Braganini Reserve Vignoles L.H. 16 MI SL
Domaine Berrien Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 14 MI SL
Domaine Berrien Cellars Lemberger 15 MI SL
Domaine Berrien Cellars Marsanne 15 MI GD
Domaine Berrien Cellars Pink Satin 16 MI SL
Domaine Berrien Cellars Pinot Noir 14 MI BR
Domaine Berrien Cellars Riesling 16 MI BR
Domaine Berrien Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 16 MI GD
Domaine Berrien Cellars Traminette 16 MI BR
Domaine Berrien Cellars Traminette Sweet 16 MI GD
Domaine Berrien Cellars Vignoles 16 MI GD
Fenn Valley Vineyards 42 Ice Wine Reserve 15 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Bubbling Rosé NV MI BR
Fenn Valley Vineyards Caberet Rosé 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Capriccio – MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Chambourcin 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Chardonnay Unoaked 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Edelzwreker 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Meritage-Red 15 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Merlot 15 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Muscat Ottenel 16 MI GD
Fenn Valley Vineyards Pinot Grigio 16 MI GD
Fenn Valley Vineyards Riesling 16 MI BR
Fenn Valley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Sweet Riesling 16 MI BR
Fenn Valley Vineyards Traminette 16 MI SL
Fenn Valley Vineyards Vino Blanco 16 MI GD
Karma Vista Vyds Cabernet Sauvignon 12 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Cha Cha 15 MI GD
Karma Vista Vyds Marquette 15 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Marquette 15 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Merlot 12 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Moon Dance 12 MI BR
Karma Vista Vyds Sauvignon Blanc 16 MI BR
Karma Vista Vyds SoCo Grigio 16 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Stone Temple 13 MI SL
Karma Vista Vyds Syrah 14 MI BR
St. Julian Wine Co. A&G Gin NV MI SL
St. Julian Wine Co. A&G Rum NV MI SL
St. Julian Wine Co. Cock of the Walk NV MI GG
St. Julian Wine Co. Envy NV MI GD
St. Julian Wine Co. FLiRT NV MI GD
St. Julian Wine Co. Grey Heron Vodka NV MI GG
St. Julian Wine Co. Lust NV MI GD
St. Julian Wine Co. Michacato NV MI BR
St. Julian Wine Co. Pinot Grigio 15 MI GG
St. Julian Wine Co. Riesling 15 MI BR
St. Julian Wine Co. Scandal NV MI GD
St. Julian Wine Co. Solera Cream Sherry NV MI GG
St. Julian Wine Co. Sunset Michcato NV MI GD
St. Julian Wine Co. Sweet Revenge NV MI GG
Tabor Hill Winery Chardonnay 15 MI BR
Tabor Hill Winery Classic Demi Red NV MI SL
Tabor Hill Winery Classic Demi Sec NV MI GD
Tabor Hill Winery Dry Traminette 16 MI SL
Tabor Hill Winery Grand Mark NV MI SL
Tabor Hill Winery Red Arrow Red NV MI BR
Tabor Hill Winery Rosé 16 MI SL
Tabor Hill Winery Traminette 14 MI SL
Tabor Hill Winery Viognier 16 MI BR
White Pine Winery Dune Shadow Red NV MI SL
White Pine Winery Red Espression NV MI SL
White Pine Winery Riesling-Dry 15 MI GD
White Pine Winery Traminette 15 MI SL
White Pine Winery White Expression NV MI SL
