on August 14, 2015 at 11:11 AM A 2011 Lemberger red wine from Ventosa Vineyards near Geneva won this year's Governor's Cup for the top wine in New York state. The award is top honor given each year at the New York Wine & Food Classic in Watkins Glen, considered the "Oscars" of state wine competitions. Medals and awards are given in a variety of wine categories, along with separate entries for spirits and ciders. Paumanok Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork won the award as "Winery of the Year," given to the winery with the best showing across all categories. The Ventosa Lemberger, like all that winery's offerings, is estate grown, meaning all the grapes come from its own vineyards. Ventosa is at 3440 Route 96A, on the east side of Seneca Lake south of Geneva. It specializes in older vintage dry red wines. The winery's tasting notes describe the Lemberger as having a "powerful spicy oak nose, botanical notes of juniper and eucalyptus on the immediate palate.

Sharp tannins, under-ripe blackberries, fiery pepper lingering on the finish." Lemberger is an Austrian grape variety, also known as Blaufrankisch, that grows well in cool climates like Upstate New York. It is one of the red varieties that Finger Lakes winemakers have been increasingly turning to in their search for a signature red. The New York Wine & Food Classic competition was held Aug. 11 and 12 at the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen. The Governor's Cup itself is a large silver chalice, awarded to Ventosa by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. This year, there were 910 entries in all categories: 858 New York wines, 20 hard ciders and 32 craft spirits. Entries came from across New York, including Long Island, Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Niagara Escarpment and Lake Erie. The Ventosa Vineyards 2011 Lemberger, Estate Grown was also voted Best Red Wine and Best Lemberger on its way to the top award. Paumanok Vineyards won Best White Wine and Best Overall Riesling on its way to the Winery of the Year.

The awards were based on blind tastings by 21 expert judges. This is the event's 30oth year. Here are the top awards, or the "best of category" winners: Goose Watch Winery Pinot Noir Brut Rosetop 3 wine production in the world Paumanok Vineyards 2014 Semi-Dry Rieslingbest wine bar in sf Lime Berry Winery Bunny Bunny Blushbest box wine canada Ventosa Vineyards 2011 Lemberger, Estate Grownbest french wine in uk Sheldrake Point Winery 2014 Riesling Ice Winebest 50 italian wine These are the "Best of Class" awards, given to Double Gold or Gold medal wines in classes of at least 10 wines:.best value dry white wine

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