The Nouveau Wine competition was held at the May meeting. This competition is specifically for wines made within the past 1 year except for Rhubarb where any vintage of rhubarb is permitted. It's a great competition to see how your youngest wines, which may not even be bottled yet, are coming along.

There were 8 wine categories plus Rhubarb judged and the winners are posted in the Club Competition page.  The Best of Show was awarded in a separate judging of the Category winners.

Jim Strezishar won the Rhubarb category!

Joe Heiland’s Marquette won Best of Show.

Congratulations Joe and Jim!

Winemaker Magazine conducts the largest competition for home winemakers in the world.  They evaluated and judged 1,382 wines in 50 categories by wine makers from 6 countries and 46 states. 2025 is the 22^nd year of the event. The UC-Davis 20-point wine scale is used to evaluate appearance, aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall impression and 4 Purple Foot wine makers were awarded 6 ribbons.

• White French-American Hybrid

Gold – Kent Nienaber – 2024 100% Estate Brianna

Silver – Kent Nienaber – 2024 100% Estate Frontenac

• Sauvignon Blanc

Silver – Kent Nienaber – 2024 100% Sauvignon Blanc

• Cabernet Franc

Gold – Chris Kutac – 2022 100% Cabernet Franc

Silver – Pete Meulepas – 2020 82% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon

• Apple or Pear Varietals or Blends

Bronze – Mike Little – 2022 100% Minnesota Apple

Congratulations Wine Makers!!