47th Annual U.S. Amateur Winemaking Competition: From Apple Cider Ice Wine to Vignoles/ Viognier
by Kristen Shubert
Do you call yourself a wine connoisseur? Feel you have a vast knowledge of wine? As a sommelier, I thought I could say, “Definitely!” Then, I experienced a whole new world of wine styles and varietals at the 47th Annual U.S. Amateur Winemaking Competition. The event boasts to be the oldest amateur wine competition sponsored by a wine club in the United States. Members of The Cellarmasters of Los Angeles Home Winemaking Club, organize, serve as the judge and the jury, and are known for the ample and detailed feedback they provide to entrants at the yearly event.
Three hundred contestants entered this year’s event, which was held June 26—June 27, at the Camarillo Custom Crush Winery in Camarillo, California. A mere $20 per bottle entry fee provided home winemakers the opportunity to hear feedback from the judges, who evaluated all aspects of the wine—from clarity, to balance, to finish.
There were categories for Sparkling, Dry White Grape—Vinifera, and Dry Red Grape—Vinifera, but also groupings for Honey wine, Cider, and one for grapes native to the United States called Dry Country Wine & Non-vinefera Grape wine. It’s a rare treat to taste wines made from Frontenac, Brianna, Cynthiana, Muscadine, and Chambourcin grapes in one sitting—as was the case at this year’s contest—but it is just these varietals that would’ve have been entered in the early years of the competition, along with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
And the tradition of making wine from native grapes (and fruit), still survives in home winemaking circles in the U.S. For example, a sweet raspberry wine from Rhode Island, produced by Luke Capoposto, won Best of Show in the Sweet wine category. And Capoposto’s apple cider ice wine won Best of Show in the Dessert division. As for the Dry Country Wine category, a Concord wine from estate-grown grapes in Grant County, Indiana, won Best of Show.
Chuck Gower of Boulder, Colorado took Best of Show in the Estate category for his estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. And Greg Stricker from St. Charles, Missouri, won for the Dry White grape category with his estate-grown Vignoles/Viognier blend. Although contestants entered wines from Washington, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Nevada, Indiana, Rhode Island, Missouri, and from as far away as Australia, Italy, and Chile, it was Californian Andy Coradeschi who took top prize in the Dry Red Grape–Vinifera category with his Golden State Pinot Noir.
If you were hoping to hear more about obscure wines, there were plenty of those too, like one derived from Aronia berries (a fruit also known as “chokeberry” that’s native to eastern North America and grows wild in wet woods and swamps), as well as a vegetable wine made from rhubarb.
The Cellarmasters of Los Angeles Home Winemaking Club is dedicated to educating, improving, and spreading the craft of home winemaking. Want to join the club? Check the website for entry information for November 2021.
