Purdue News

August 7, 1998 Indiana wines earn record number of medals NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A list of medal-winning wines and of Indiana wineries is available from Sally Peart at (765) 496-3842. She is the communications director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council, which is based at Purdue. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana wines earned a record 207 medals -- 11 gold, 86 silver and 110 bronze -- in the 1998 Indiana State Fair Wine Competition, also known as Indy International. "This has been the largest medal count ever for Hoosier vintners," said Richard Vine, a world-renowned enologist and Purdue University food science professor who directs the competition. The winning wines were announced Thursday (8/6) at "A Taste of Indiana Agriculture" reception at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The wine competition was held July 23-25 in Indianapolis. Huber Orchard & Winery, Starlight, Ind., took the Governor's Cup for the third year running for the most points earned by an Indiana Winery. Huber won two gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 19 medals overall in the Indiana and national divisions. Geyser Peak, a California winery, earned the coveted Best of Show trophy from American Airlines for its 1995 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. The best amateur wine award in both the national and Indiana divisions went to Dan and Donna Adams of Tobinsport, Ind., for their Labrusca Rose. The Indiana State Fair will display the winning wines Aug. 12- 23 in the Ag/Hort building. An information booth staffed by volunteers from Indiana wineries will be nearby. The Indy International, one of the five largest international wine competitions in the country, attracted 2,147 entries from 19 countries. The judges for the competition are wine professionals from coast to coast -- wine makers, writers, marketers, educators and researchers -- who evaluate thousands of wines competing for gold medals and the prestigious American Airlines trophy. For a free guide to Indiana's wineries, send a self-addressed, long envelope with 55-cents postage affixed to: Indiana Wine Grape Council, 1160 Food Science Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1160, 1-800-832-WINE. CONTACTS: Vine, (765) 494-6704; e-mail, vined@foodsci.purdue.edu, or Sally Peart, communications director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council, (765) 496-3842; e-mail, pearts@foodsci.purdue.edu Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page