“Kentucky is being recognized as a major producer of quality wines,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Congratulations to all the Kentucky wineries that competed at this prestigious event. These wineries and others are raising the bar for fine Kentucky wine.”

Jean Farris Winery & Bistro of Lexington struck gold with its Petite Syrah, and Wight-Meyer Vineyard & Winery of Shepherdsville earned a gold medal with its Petite Syrah. Wight-Meyer’s Diamond was Best of Class in American Late Harvest and Ice Wine, and the winery won nine medals in all. Jean Farris captured a total of five medals.

Other Kentucky wineries that scored at Indy International were Acres of Land Winery, Richmond (two medals); Black Barn Winery, Lexington (one); Elk Creek Vineyards, Owenton (two); Grimes Mill Winery, Lexington (one); Purple Toad Winery, Paducah (seven); Reid’s Livery Winery, Alvaton (one); River Valley Winery, Carrollton (two); Talon Winery, Lexington (one); and Wildside Winery & Vineyard, Versailles (one).

Several Kentucky winemakers earned high honors in the amateur categories. A complete list of medalists is available at www.indyinternational.org.

Indy International bills itself as the largest scientifically organized and independent wine competition in the United States. Some 3,000 wines from throughout the U.S. and 15 countries were judged.

In July, Kentucky wineries brought home 13 medals, including three golds, at the Mid-American Wine Competition in Ankeny, Iowa. Harkness Edwards Vineyards of Winchester earned two gold medals for its Vat 32 Viognier as well as a bronze. Reid’s Livery Winery captured gold with its Black Raspberry wine and also won a bronze. Purple Toad Winery won five medals, including a best of class for their PeachBerry, and Acres of Land won three. A full list of medalists is available at www.midamericanwine.org/

Once a leading grape- and wine-producing state, Kentucky today boasts nearly 70 wineries that are earning awards in competitions throughout the nation.

The James Beard Foundation has invited Jean Farris Winery and Bistro with Executive Chef Justin Thompson to come to New York and showcase not only the food, but also the internationally awarded Kentucky wines that have made them a regional success. The dinner event headlined as “Kentucky Wine Estate” will be held at the James Beard House in New York City on August 11^th and will include the pairing of Jean Farris wines with the uniquely Kentucky dishes that are a staple of Jean Farris Winery and Bistro.

 Chef Thompson will be preparing hors d’oeuvres and a five-course dinner that, as always, starts in the estate garden. “We are taking Jean Farris on the road; we are not changing what we do for the James Beard House. We are offering their guests a seat at the Jean Farris table,” says Chef Thompson. In order to showcase the difference in flavors produced from the central Kentucky region, they will be carrying vegetables grown in their Lexington, Kentucky garden to New York City. When asked about this extreme measure, owner/vintner Ben O’Daniel simply answered, “The unequalled flavors that are in our food and wine start with the soil that is Kentucky.” Dishes for the event range from an heirloom tomato tasting, currently on the Jean Farris summer menu, to Kentucky milk-fed veal. Jean Farris will also be releasing a new sparkling wine, Constellations, at the event.

 Details on the Kentucky Wine Estate event at the James Beard House in New York City on August 11^th can be found on the events page at www.jamesbeard.org. If you are planning a trip to New York City and would like to attend the event at the James Beard House reservations can be made by calling 212-627-2308. In preparation for the event, Jean Farris will host a preview dinner at their Winery & Bistro in Lexington, KY on Thursday, July 28. The cost for the preview dinner at the winery is $80 and includes wine pairing. Advance reservation is required and available by calling 859-263-WINE (9463). 

 For further information on the James Beard Foundation, go to www.jamesbeard.org. For information on Jean Farris, their wines, current menu, events and to make reservations go to www.jeanfarris.com or call 859-263-9463.

“Kentucky wines continue to enjoy success in wine competitions all over the country,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Congratulations to all the Kentucky wineries that won medals at the Kentucky Derby Festival competition.”

The gold medal-winning Kentucky wineries and wines were:

Chrisman Mill Winery, Nicholasville – Vidal Blanc

Lovers Leap Winery, Lawrenceburg – Cabernet Sauvignon

MillaNova Winery, Mt. Washington – Mafia Merlot

Prodigy Winery, Frankfort – Chambourcin and Vignoles (two)

River Bend Winery, Louisville – Meritage

Talon Winery, Lexington – Chambourcin Reserve, Chambourcin(two)

Wight-Meyer Winery, Shepherdsville – Petite Syrah and Moores Diamond (two)

In all, 15 Kentucky wineries took 75 medals home from the competition. Judges from the American Wine Society scored the entries.

Patrons will be able to sample some of these medaled bottles of wine at the Kentucky Proud Derby Festival WineFest May 3-4. For more information, go to www.kdf.org.  Below are the full results from the competition.

 Two Kentucky wineries brought home one gold medals, four silver, and two bronze.  Purple Toad Winery, Paducah, received gold for the Estate Grown Laurens Blackberry wine.  Silver medals were awarded to Purple Toad Winery for the 2009 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Merlot, and the Paducah Peach.  A bronze medal was awarded for the Estate Grown Paducah Blue. 

 StoneBrook Winery, Melbourne, received a silver medal for the Pomegranate wine and a bronze for the 2008 Estate Cabernet Franc. 

 Kentucky wineries will be participating in a variety of international and national wine competitions throughout 2011.

 Wines of the South is an annual regional wine competition designed to promote and celebrate the great taste of Southern wine vintages.  Wineries from 14 states have this unique venue to compare, compete, and promote the art of winemaking.  Experienced professionals from around the region judge entries.  All wines are judged blind, served at the appropriate temperature, and ranked with the industry standard 20-point scale.

Kentucky wineries won two concordance gold medals, one gold medal, thirteen silver, and ten bronze.  All judges must give the wine a gold medal to earn a concordance gold.    

 Winery

The 2007 cabernet sauvignon won a silver, and the 2008 Cynthiana and 2008 riesling earned bronze medals. This is the largest competition of American wines in the world, receiving more than 5,000 entries, winemaker Logan Leet said.

Lovers Leap is located at 1180 Lanes Mill Road in Lawrenceburg. Call (502) 839-1299 or go to Loversleapwine.com.

The campaign was centered on a 30-minute documentary, “Vintage Kentucky: The Vine to Wine Experience,” which was a project of the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The documentary was co-produced by New West LLC of Louisville. It first aired on KET in November 2009.

“’Vintage Kentucky’ effectively told the story of the Kentucky wine industry’s illustrious past and bright future with style and professionalism,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Congratulations to the Grape and Wine Council, New West and the Department’s marketing office on these well-deserved honors.”

The campaign received an Award of Excellence in the category Overall Communications – Customer Relations and Service, and another in Publications/Special Project for a unique z-fold map of Kentucky’s wineries. The premiere showing of the documentary at The Kentucky Center in Louisville, premiere event materials and the council’s Web site received honorable mention awards in their respective categories.

The Landmarks of Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievement in public relations. The awards were announced in a ceremony Oct. 12 in Louisville.

 Earlier this year, “Vintage Kentucky” won two silver Telly Awards and one bronze. The Telly Awards honor the best local, regional and cable television commercials and programs.

“Vintage Kentucky” may be purchased on DVD by going to the Grape and Wine Council’s Web site, www.kentuckywine.com. For more information about the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s grape and wine marketing program, go to www.kyagr.com/marketing/plantmktg/grape.htm.

 “Throughout the country, wine lovers are discovering what we already know: Kentucky’s wine industry is back,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said.

Acres of Land Winery of Richmond earned double gold and Best of Class for its Concord wine along with a silver medal for the Vidal Blanc.  This is the second year in a row Acres of Land Winery won a Best of Class for its Concord wine.  Jean Farris Winery of Lexington picked up gold medals for its Petite Syrah (which also was Best of Class) and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as three bronze medals for Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Tempest.

 Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery won double gold in the French-American Blush/Rose class for its Diamond/Concord wine. The Diamond wine earned a gold medal and Best of Class in two categories: the Diamond category and the American Late Harvest Category.  Wight-Meyer Vineyard and winery also won gold for its Concord wine.  The Shepherdsville winery also brought home four silver medals for Diamond Winter Solstice, Norton Reserve, Vignoles, and Chardonnay. 

Purple Toad Winery of Paducah won five medals total: gold for Peach Chardonnay, gold for Concord 2008, silver for the Merlot and Lauren’s Blackberry and a bronze for Paducah Blue.    

Other Kentucky wineries that won medals at Indy International was Black Barn Winery of Lexington, a silver was awarded for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc V blend and a bronze for its VI blend.  Chrisman Mill Vineyards and Winery of Nicholasville earned a silver medal for Traminette while Equus Run Vineyards of Midway also won silver for Pinot Noir and bronze for Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Lovers Leap Vineyards and Winery of Lawrenceburg was awarded a bronze for Riesling and River Valley Winery of Carrollton brought home two bronze medals for their Loretto and Bobby’s.  A silver medal was awarded to StoneBrook Winery of Camp Springs for the Chambourcin wine and Talon Winery and Vineyard of Lexington also was honored with silver for their Cabernet Sauvignon.  Wildside Winery of Versailles and Horseshoe Bend Vineyards and Winery of Willisburg were both awarded a bronze medal for their Cynthiana/ Norton wines.  Horseshoe Bend was also awarded a bronze for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Black Oak Vineyard of Princeton was received a bronze for its Chardonnel

More than 50 judges evaluated commercial wines from 39 states and 12 countries at the Indy International competition, the largest scientifically organized and independent competition in the United States.

In July, three Kentucky wineries brought home 12 medals, including four golds, from the 2010 Mid-American Wine Competition in Ankeny, Iowa.

Harkness Edwards Vineyards of Winchester won three medals, including gold medals for its Vat 32 Viognier wine and for the wine’s label in the Most Unique category. Wight-Meyer won gold for its Diamond wine and earned five medals in all, the most among Kentucky wineries. Elk Creek Vineyards of Owenton won a gold medal for the Best Series label on its Orchard Creek Series and three bronze medals.

The fourth annual Mid-American Wine Competition on July 9-11 was open only to commercial wineries in Kentucky and 15 other states across the Midwest. Proceeds from the competition support the Enology International Internship program at Des Moines Area Community College, which hosted the event.

            For additional information about Kentucky wine visit www.kentuckywine.com.

Harkness Edwards Vineyards in Winchester won two gold medals – one for its Vat 32 Viognier wine and one for the wine’s label in the Most Unique category. Harkness Edwards also received a silver medal for the label on its Taste the Sun bottle.

Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery in Shepherdsville won five medals, the most among Kentucky wineries. Its Diamond wine won gold, its Vignoles wine received silver, and its Dry Chardonnay, Chambourcin and Norton Reserve each got bronzes.

Elk Creek Vineyard and Winery in Owenton won a gold medal for the Best Series label on its Orchard Creek Series. The series also received three bronze medals for its Sweet Blueberry, Sweet Pomegranate and Sweet Strawberry wines.

The fourth annual Mid-American Wine Competition on July 9-11 was open only to commercial wineries in Kentucky and 15 other states across the Midwest – Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The Mid-American is the first competition in the nation in which wines are judged with carefully selected, food-friendly dishes, allowing the wines to be evaluated based on their synergism with food. Wine labels were also judged in seven categories: Best Label, Best Imaging, Best Series, Most Humorous, Most Humorous Series, Most Sophisticated and Most Unique.

Proceeds from the competition support the Enology International Internship program at Des Moines Area Community College, which hosted the event.

“Vintage Kentucky: The Vine to Wine Experience” was honored by the 31st annual Telly Awards with two Silver Telly awards, the organization’s highest award, in the Cultural and History/Biography categories and a Bronze Telly in the Travel/Tourism category. The Telly Awards honor the best local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, video and film productions, and work created for the Web.

“This documentary very effectively told the story of our wine industry’s rich history and its bright future,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. “These awards will bring new attention to Kentucky’s outstanding wines and some of the talented, hard-working people who produce them.”

A judging panel of 350 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of the Silver Telly Council, judged more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and around the world. Fewer than 10 percent of entries are chosen for the Silver Telly.

“Vintage Kentucky: The Vine to Wine Experience,” a project of the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is a 30-minute documentary that tells the story of Kentucky’s wine industry from its status as a national leader in the 1800s to its demise as a result of Prohibition to its current re-emergence. The documentary was co-produced by New West LLC of Louisville.

KET, which first aired the documentary in November 2009, has added more showings to its upcoming schedule. “Vintage Kentucky: The Vine to Wine Experience” may be purchased on DVD.