This week's Indy International Wine Competition once again added to the ever-increasing New York Gold stash, with 5 Concordance (Double) Gold, 19 Gold, 49 Silver, and 29 Bronze medals--a total of 102.

                    The Concordance Golds, requiring unanimity among panelists, included 21 Brix Thirsty Elephant; Lakewood Long Stem White; Swedish Hill Riesling Cuvee, and 2015 Pinot Grigio; and Wagner 2013 Semi-Dry Riesling.

                    Gold medals went to 21 Brix Ella's White, and Ella's Red; Barrington 2015 Riesling, and 2011 Dry Rose; Demarest Hill Spicy Apple; Hazlitt 2013 Gewurztraminer, and Solera Sherry;  Kaneb Orchards 2015 Apple Cranberry Hard Cider; Lakewood Sparkling Catwaba, and 2015 Valvin Muscat; Lamoreaux Landing 2014 Semi-Dry Riesling, and Estate Red Cuvee; Silver Springs Majestic Ice; Swedish Hill 2015 Blue Waters Riesling; Thirsty Owl 2015 Diamond, 2015 Snow Owl, and 2015 Traminette; Wagner 2014 Riesling Caywood East Vineyard, and 2013 Riesling Select Estate

                    The Indy International is held at Purdue University, chaired by Dr. Christian Butzke and organized expertly by Jill Blume, who will be judging at our New York Wine & Food Classic this week.  The Indy included about 2,000 wines from 13 countries and 36 states, about 50 judges, and a great backroom staff (the "Pit Cru") who kept everything running very efficiently.

                    The fact that the "Best of Category" winners (Sparkling, White, Rose, Red, and Dessert) were from California, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Virginia is a wonderful reminder that great wines are now being made from many different grape varieties all over the United States! 

                    WineAmerica members St. Julian Winery from Michigan won best Sparkling Wine with its Sweet Nancy (sparkling Traminette), and St. James Winery from Missouri won Best White Wine with its 2015 Vignoles.

                     Wine: The All-American art form.

                     On Monday evening at Lakewood Vineyards, we'll have our annual Welcome Dinner for judges and staff of the New York Wine & Food Classic, with the main judging on Tuesday and the Sweepstakes round on Wednesday morning.  The dinner is always a festive reunion featuring local products prepared by Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Baltimore, assisted by Coke Roth of Washington State (from which he brings incredible Northwest salmon), and Dr. Bob Small of Dr. Bob's Ice Cream from Pomona, California.

                     This year we have another record number of entries (969) that will be evaluated by 22 expert judges from around the country and beyond.  They include wine educators, retail wine buyers, restaurateurs, wine writers and others whose professional lives revolve around wine.  But they couldn't do their job--swirling, sniffing, sipping, and spitting--without an incredible backroom crew overseen by Teresa Knapp, who organizes it all with the support of Susan Spence, Dana Alexander, Jenn Cooper, and Kim Hughes of our staff.

                      The Classic is essentially "The Oscars" of New York wine, and the winning wineries get huge immediate sales.  The Governor's Cup award goes to the single best wine in the entire competition, while Winery of the Year goes to the winery with the strongest overall showing.  For the past several years, by total coincidence (all wines are tasted blind), the Governor's Cup has gone to a Finger Lakes wine and Winery of the Year to a Long Island winery.

                      If all goes as planned, we'll announce this year's winners on Wednesday afternoon.  Stay tuned.

                       The Daily Meal blog recently ran a piece on the "101 Best Wineries in America", which included 7 from New York: Red Newt Cellars (#42), Boundary Breaks (43), Dr. Konstantin Frank (54), Hermann J. Wiemer (68), Shinn Estate (74), Channing Daughters (86), and Bellwether Hard Cider & Wine Cellars (90).

                        Not surprisingly given its huge number of wineries, California had the most, with good representation also from Oregon and Washington, but it wasn't so long ago that New York would have been largely ignored.  No longer...and it's great to see.

                        WineAmerica is once again protecting the interests of American wineries, as the Department of Justice this week confirmed a longstanding consent decree preventing two performing rights organizations (PRO's) from engaging in anti-competitive practices that would hurt wineries and many other businesses.  Tara Good of WineAmerica is part of a coalition in Washington that is taking a proactive role on this issue, which will continue

                        Meanwhile, since 2004 when the Special Occupational Tax was repealed (thanks much to WineAmerica), all wineries in the U.S. have been saving (depending on size) $500 or $1,000 per year (that is, $6,000, or $12,000 over time), and starting January 1, 2017 will save another $1,000 per year due to repeal of a federal bond requirement.

                         But wait...that's not all!  The latest attempt to save wineries money is a pending legislative proposal, widely supported in the Senate (including by our Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, who are co-sponsoring it), that would reduce federal excise taxes on wine, beer, and spirits.

                         As I have said many times, every American winery should join WineAmerica.  Compared with the money saved, the dues are miniscule.