2017 WineMaker Competition Results

WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition Results:

With 2,497 entries, the event is once again the largest wine competition of its kind in the world!

Wines were judged on April 7-9, 2017 at Mount Snow Grand Summit Hotel in West Dover, Vermont.

2,497 Total Entries
506 Total Wine Flights
759 Total Judging Hours
50 American States Represented
6 Canadian Provinces Represented
7 Countries Represented

33 L

From April 7 to 9, 2017, a total of 2,497 different wines were judged at the Grand Summit Hotel and Conference Center at Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vermont. This year’s competition was again the largest wine competition of its kind in the world. The 2,497 entries arrived from hobby winemakers throughout North America in 50 American states and 6 Canadian provinces and as far away as Norway and Australia. It continues to be the single largest and most diverse collection of hobby wines assembled annually under one roof.

Over the course of three days, experienced judging panels worked through 506 flights, examining each wine using the UC-Davis 20-point wine scale evaluating appearance, aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall impression. The wines were entered in 50 different categories and included an astonishing array of varietals and wine styles. New this year was the addition of the Apple Hard Cider and Perry category to meet demand from hobbyists. Kit wines competed alongside fresh-grape entries in this blind tasting.

Entries were awarded gold, silver, bronze and best of show medals based on the average score given by the judging panel. The Grand Champion Wine Award was the top overall scoring wine across all categoriesand is being renamed this year the “Gene Spaziani Grand Champion Wine” in recognition of our longtime judging director. The Club of the Year was given to the club whose members won the most medals and the Retailer of the Year and U-Vint of the Year awards were given to the winemaking supply stores whose customers outperformed other similar shops.

Finally the Winemaker of the Year award was given to the individual entrant who has the highest average score across their top 5 scoring wines in the competition.

Congratulations to everyone who won a medal, and a sincere thanks to our sponsors, Competition Director Ric Quental, Events Manager Jannell Kristiansen, our judges, competition volunteers, and of course everyone who took time to enter.

We are already busy planning for the 2018 edition of this competition so get your wines ready for the March 16, 2018 entry deadline! Cheers and thanks for entering your wines!

For a full list of the 2017 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition judges, please click here

For previous results from 2016 all the way back to the first WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competion which took place in 2002, please click here