From April 22-24, 2022, a total of 1,772 different wines were judged at the Mount Snow Grand Summit Lodge in West Dover, Vermont. This year’s competition was again the largest wine competition of its kind in the world. The 1,772 entries arrived from hobby winemakers living throughout North America in 48 American states and 4 Canadian provinces and as far away as Sweden. 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 355 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 Gene Spaziani Grand Champion Wine award 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 had 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. Cheers and thanks for entering your wines!
Having your homemade wines judged by experts is a great way to get feedback and improve your winemaking. In order to do so, however, you need to understand what the judges are trying to tell you and apply it to your next wine.
1,499 entries 287 wine flights 221 total judging hours 41 American states 8 Canadian provinces 4 countries Walking into a large ballroom packed with 1,499 wine bottles organized into 287 wine flights is a pretty incredible sight, especially for any wine lover. The variety of wine styles alone is remarkable. From a jalapeño wine made in Texas to a backyard estate grown Zinfandel from Sonoma, each bottle has its own story and…
