Rhode Island Riesling Named Best of Show at ASWC
fotos: The judges and support team for ASWC in the top picture and below Ambassador Mariano Fernandez checks the aroma of a wine at his judge's table.
While Sauce on the Side friends Counter Intelligence and Metrocurean were chasing Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, I was spending the weekend with 19 other judges tasting over 450 wines for the 4th Annual Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition at the Regency at Dominion Valley in Haymarket, Va. I know the high octane celebration had plenty to offer, but we were learning in our back yard that wines of the East Coast are getting better each year and in some ways have taken some quantum leaps as winemakers and wineries zero in on what grows best in our region. Joining me on the panel of judges were wine experts that included Mariano Fernandez, Ambassador of Chile to the United States; Dave McIntyre, Washingtonian wine writer and chef Jerry Pellegrino, Corks in Baltimore. Other judges represented a cross section of the wine industry’s market including winemakers, sommeliers, wine appreciation educators and wine regulatory officials who evaluated a full array of wine varietals produced from Vinifera, as well as Native American and French Hybrid grapes.
Two days of judging, culminating with a taste off of the 19 gold medal winning best of categories wines, led to the naming of the Newport Vineyards 2007 Riesling as the Best of Show for the competition.
The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition is a wine judging that focuses on the wines being produced on the Atlantic Seaboard that encompasses 17 states. The mission is to promote a national consumer awareness that there is a quality wine producing region along the East Coast of the United States. Also, the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition conducts a variety of public wine tasting events that ensure that all wine entries in the ASWC will be featured and made available to an array of interested, public wine consumers. Such events include a scheduled “Taste of the Best of the Atlantic Seaboard” at COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa Valley, California. There is also an annual ASWC winners’ awards presentation and wine tasting on Capitol Hill under the auspices of the U.S. Congressional Wine Caucus tentatively scheduled for mid-September.
Some of the Best of Category gold medal winners that made it to the taste off for Best of Show were:
Kluge 2004 Sparkling Rose (VA)
Barboursville 2007 Pinot Grigrio (VA)
Jefferson 2007 Chardonnay Reserve (VA)
Elk Run Vineyards Gewurztraminer (MD)
Pearmund Cellars 2007 Viognier (VA)
Osprey's Dominion 2005 Merlot (NY)
Presque Isle 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (PA)
Keswick Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc (VA)
Keswick Vineyards 2007 Touriga (VA)
Frogtown Cellars 2005 Touche (GA)
Fox Meadow Winery 2006 Le Renard Rouge (VA)
I will post here a complete list of gold, silver and bronze medal winners as soon as the awards committee releases the official results.
The competition is produced by the Vinifera Wine Growers Association (I sit on the board) and the organization also produces the Virginia Wine Festival, now in its 33rd year. The dates for 2008 are September 27 and 28 ... more on that as we finalize details as I handle the food and wine seminars.










