On February 24, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) announced the results of a contest known as “The Oscars” of New York wine competitions—the 35th Annual New York Wine Classic.
Nearly 100 wineries from throughout New York state entered the event and there were 607 total wine entries, according to a news release.
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation created and hosts this yearly event that is open to all New York State wineries. Categories participants can enter include vinifera wines like Riesling and Cabernet Franc, and hybrid wines like Traminette and Maréchal Foch. There are also categories for wines made from labrusca grapes, other fruits, and honey.
All of the wines submitted were judged over a four-month period that ran from November 1, 2020 to February 15, 2021. The judges included beverage directors, sommeliers, top bartenders, retail buyers and educators that were part of a trained sensory panel of the Beverage Tasting Institute (BTI), which was founded in Ithaca in 1981.
“The New York Wine Classic is our largest annual event honoring the best of New York Wines,” said Sam Filler, Executive Director, New York Wine & Grape Foundation. “The pandemic threw us a curveball this year, but thanks to our partnership with BTI, The Classic continues to help New York shine as a truly exciting and innovative wine region.”
On Thursday, March 18, “Best of Category” winners, as well as the prestigious Governor’s Cup and Winery of the Year awards will be announced via Zoom and a live broadcast on the Foundation’s Facebook page.
“Our panelists were thrilled to have had the opportunity to get up close and personal with so many New York wines and discover wineries they were not yet familiar with. And for the wineries that they have known for years, our panelists were delighted to see (and taste!) the progress that young wineries had made and that established wineries had maintained,” said Jerald O’Kennard, Executive Director, Beverage Testing Institute. “Though they’re lamenting that this year’s New York panels are over, they’ve all expressed interest in stocking their on-and-off premise accounts with more robust New York offerings. Cheers!”
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation announced the following “Best of Class” winners:
| Best Cabernet Franc | Lamoreaux Landing 2019 T23 Unoaked, Cabernet Franc, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Ice Wine (frozen on the vine) | Boundary Breaks 2019 Ice Wine, Riesling, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Lemberger/Blaufränkisch | Adirondack Winery 2018 Stargazer, Lemberger, New York State. |
| Best Merlot | Goose Watch 2015 Merlot, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Pétillant Naturel (Pét-Nat) | Fossenvue Winery 2018 Eighteen Forty-Eight Pétillant Naturel, Diamond, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Riesling (Medium Dry) | Rooftop Reds 2017 Riesling, New York State. |
| Best Riesling (Medium Sweet) | Wagner Vineyards 2019 Select, Riesling, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Riesling (Sweet) | Penguin Bay 2019 Sweet, Riesling, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Cabernet Sauvignon | Brotherhood 2017 New York Premium Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon, New York State. |
| Best Chardonnay (Oaked) | Millbrook 2019 Proprietor’s Special Reserve, Chardonnay, Hudson River Region. |
| Best Force Carbonation/Transfer Method | Stony Lonesome 2019 Sec, Chardonnay, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Gewurztraminer | Pindar Vineyards 2019 Dr. Dan’s Signature Collection, Gewurztraminer, North Fork of Long Island. |
| Best Gruner Veltliner | Dr. Konstantin Frank 2019 Gruner Veltliner, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Other Red Hybrid Varietal | Northern Cross Vineyard 2018 Estate, Frontenac, Upper Hudson. |
| Best Other Red Vinifera Varietal | Dr. Konstantin Frank 2018 Saperavi, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Pinot Gris | Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2019 Pinot Gris, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Pinot Noir | McCall Wines 2014 Reserve Corchaug Estate, Pinot Noir, North Fork of Long Island. |
| Best Red Blend (Vinifera & Non-Vinifera) | Atwater 2019 Stone Bridge Red Blend, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Red Blend (Vinifera) | Paumanok 2015 Assemblage Red Blend, North Fork of Long Island. |
| Best Riesling (Dry) | Anthony Road 2019 Dry, Riesling, Finger Lakes. |
| Best Rosé (0 to 2% RS) | Ryan William Vineyard 2019 Rosé, Pinot Noir, Seneca Lake. |
| Best Sauvignon Blanc | Paumanok 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, North Fork of Long Island. |
| Best Traditional Method | Paumanok 2016 Blanc De Blancs, Chardonnay, North Fork of Long Island. |
| Best Traminette | Johnson Estate 2018 Estate Grown, Traminette, Lake Erie. |
| Best White Blend (Vinifera) | Pindar Vineyards 2019 Dr. Dan’s Signature Collection White Blend, North Fork of Long Island. |
