4/2/2015 – KENTUCKIANA WINERIES WIN GOLD AT DERBY FESTIVAL JUDGING

March 26, 2015– LOUISVILLE, KY  – The Kentucky Derby Festival is pleased to announce the winners of the wine judging competition that was held Wednesday, March 25, at The Ice House in Louisville. Judges from the American Wine Society gathered to score the 134 different wine samples from 16 Kentucky and Indiana wineries that entered into the competition.

The wines were competing to be the best in the region and were scored on appearance, bouquet, taste/texture, aftertaste, and overall impression. The judging is part of the Kentucky Proud Kentucky Derby Festival WineFest in April.

The following Kentucky and Indiana wineries won GOLD awards in these categories: (A complete list of all winning wines is available online at www.kdf.org.)

  • Best Vineyards: Cabawba (Elizabeth, IN)
  • Best Vineyards: Red Raspberry
  • Best Vineyards: Blueberry and Merlot
  • Chrisman Mills: Red Hybrid (Nicholasville, KY)
  • Forest Edge Winery: Niagra/Catawba (Shepherdsville, KY)
  • Forest Edge Winery: Muscat Canelli
  • Forest Edge Winery: Merlot
  • Forest Edge Winery: Blackberry
  • Forest Edge Winery: Concord
  • Huber’s: Vignoles (Starlight, IN)
  • Huber’s: Varietal/Auroa
  • Huber’s: Traminette
  • Huber’s: Raspberry
  • Huber’s: Cabernet Franc
  • Indian Creek: Niagra/Concord (Georgetown, IN)
  • Old 502: Traminette (Louisville, KY)
  • Old 502: Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Old 502: Concord
  • Prodigy Vineyards: Chambourcin (Frankfort-Versailles, KY)
  • Prodigy Vineyards: Cab. Savn. / Cab. Franc / Lemberger
  • Prodigy Vineyards: Traminette
  • Prodigy Vineyards: Raspberry
  • Prodigy Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon
  • PurpleToad: Cabernet Franc (Paducah, KY)
  • PurpleToad: Blackberry Peach
  • PurpleToad: Blackberry Concord
  • PurpleToad: Blackberry / Strawberry / Peach Chardonnay
  • PurpleToad: Strawberry
  • Rising Sons: Blackberry
  • Rising Sons: Norton
  • Rising Sons: Vidal Blanc
  • Rose Hill Farm: Strawberry Wine (Butler, KY)
  • Wight-Meyer Vineyards: Diamond/Concord Rosé (Shepherdsville, KY)
  • Wright-Meyer Vineyards: Seyval Blanc
  • Wright-Meyer Vineyards: Riesling/Raspberry

Patrons will be able to sample some of these gold medal bottles of wine at the Kentucky Proud Kentucky Derby Festival WineFest on Tuesday, April 28, and Wednesday, April 29. The WineFest will be open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on both days. This year’s WineFest will feature over a dozen wineries from Kentucky and Indiana. Tickets are $40 and available online at www.kdf.org or by calling (502) 584-FEST. Sponsor: Kentucky Proud. Media sponsors are Today’s Woman and Lite 106.9.

The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. It entertains more than 1.5 million people annually. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.