2016 WineMaker Competition Results

WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition Results:

With 2,981 entries, the event is once again the largest wine competition of its kind in the world!

Wines were judged on April 15-17, 2016 at the Burlington Hilton in Burlington, Vermont.

2,981 Total Entries
645 Total Wine Flights
894 Total Judging Hours
50 American States Represented
6 Canadian Provinces Represented
13 Countries Represented

From April 15 to 17, 2016, a total of 2,981 different wines were judged at the Burlington Hilton in Burlington, Vermont. This year’s competition was again the largest wine competition of its kind in the world. The 2,981 entries arrived from hobby winemakers throughout North America in 50 American states and 6 Canadian provinces and as far away as Phillipines and Croatia. 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 645 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. 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 medal was the top overall scoring wine across all categories. 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, Judging Director, Gene Spaziani, Competition Director, Ric Quental, events coordinator Jannell Kristiansen, our judges, competition volunteers, and, of course, everyone who took time to enter. To check out the 2016 WineMaker competition winners in attendance at the awards dinner from the WineMaker conference in Santa Rosa, click here.

We are already busy planning for the 2017 edition of this competition so get your wines ready for the March 3, 2017 entry deadline! Cheers and thanks for entering your wines!