Press Releases
Winners revealed at Kentucky wine competition
201 wines entered in fourth annual competition
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
For more information contact:
Angela Blank
(502) 573-0450
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Five Kentucky wineries took home the coveted Commissioner’s Cup honors in the fourth annual Kentucky Commonwealth Commercial Wine Competition last month at Sullivan University.
“Congratulations to all the winners and their outstanding wines,” Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. “Our wineries continue to produce exceptional wines that should make every Kentucky wine lover Kentucky Proud.”
The Commissioner’s Cup winners and their winning wines, by award, winery, location, wine, and vintage, included:
- Best White Wine: Atwood Hill Winery, Morning View, Estate Vidal Blanc
- Best Rose/Blush: Equus Run Vineyards, Midway, Bluegrass Bubbles Blush
- Best Red: Rising Sons Winery, Lawrenceburg, Cataldo’s Salute, 2012
- Best Sweet/Dessert/Fruit: Baker-Bird Winery, Augusta, Silver Swallow
- Best Boutique (under 100 case production): Cave Hill Winery, Eubank, Reserve Chambourcin, 2014
Purple Toad Winery of Paducah was awarded eight gold medals to lead all wineries. A total of 201 wines were entered in the competition.
The Commissioner’s Cup and medal winners were announced at a dinner Monday in Louisville. They will be honored at a gala Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville. Tickets to the gala are $50 and can be purchased online at competition.kentuckywine.com/event/. Tickets entitle guests to tastings of the Commissioner’s Cup wines and gold medal wines, heavy hors d’oeuvres by Wiltshire Pantry, live entertainment, and more.
Kentucky was home to the first commercial vineyard in the United States and was a significant grape- and wine-producing state until the industry was all but shuttered during Prohibition. Kentucky’s grape and wine industry was revived in the 1990s, and today Kentucky has 70 small-farm wineries. An economic impact study commissioned by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the Kentucky Grape & Wine Council found that the Commonwealth’s grape and wine industry had an economic impact of $165.3 million in 2014.
To find out more about the KDA’s Grape & Wine Marketing Program, go to kyagr.com/marketing/grape-wine.html. For full results from the Kentucky Commonwealth Commercial Wine Competition and more information about Kentucky wineries, including an interactive map, go to competition.kentuckywine.com/awards.
