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Merritt Estate Winery recently hosted their 32nd annual Strawberry Festival. Each year, the festival is held to mark the local strawberry harvest and the beginning of summer. While Saturday's weather proved daunting, wine and lacrosse enthusiasts flooded the winery grounds to enjoy live music and wine slush and to meet Buffalo Bandit's Johnny Tavares. The National Lacrosse League athlete, warmly known by his fans as the Godfather of the NLL, joined Merritt in an effort to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The coming of spring means one thing for the employees of Merritt Estate Winery; it's festival season. The lull of the winter months disappears rapidly and is replaced with a face paced schedule that revolves around each individual's talents with time management. The first event in line for the bustling winery is their annual Strawberry Festival. Each year, Merritt teams up with a local celebrity athlete to raise proceeds for a charity of the athlete's choice. This year, the winery will be working with Buffalo Bandit's Forward Johnny Tavares in an effort to raise valuable funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Last year, the America's Grape Country Wine Festival committee decided to add something new to the growing event; a headline concert featuring Atlantic recording artist Uncle Kracker. The possibility of bringing big name acts to the grandstands of the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds became a reality as the concert proved to be a huge success for both festival promoters and attendees alike. The committee has announced that this year's headline concert performing artist is the internationally acclaimed rock band, The Guess Who.

The recent break in the weather has moved everyone's mind to the outdoors. Individuals seem to be looking for some kind of event that can take them out of the house for the weekend. With the recent signs of spring fever showing, there is only one thing on the minds of winery owners in Lake Erie Wine Country, the wine trail's annual Wine and Cheese Weekend. With a sold out Wine and Chocolate Weekend earlier this year, it is anticipated that the upcoming event will also be a popular one.

This year, Lake Erie Wine Country will hold their annual Wine and Art Weekend on Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is a collaboration between the wineries of the Lake Erie Wine Trail and artists from both the North Shore Arts Alliance and the North East Arts Council. In an effort to show just how well the worlds of wine and art pair together, 21 wineries and 33 artists are scheduled to participate in the event. Visitors to the trail are encouraged to spend the day wine tasting and viewing the works of the talented artists that the area has to offer. Art will be available for purchase as well.

For the staff at Merritt Estate Winery, there is nothing quite like the anticipation and excitement of producing a new wine. There are so many important decisions to be made. A grape varietal must be chosen, sweetness determined and a natural flavor could be added. By far, the most important decision is that which will brand the wine forever; the name.

Merritt Estate Winery intends on keeping the momentum going this season when it comes to their participation in national wine competitions. The staff at the winery puts year round effort in to producing their award winning wines and their attention to detail is directly reflected in the honors they have recently received.

For the second time in less than a decade, one of Merritt Estate's wines will be featured in the international market.

The Lake Erie Wine Trail will once again host its annual Wine and Chocolate Weekend. As the wine trail's Valentine's Day venture for lovers, friends and family alike, the self-guided ticketed event will take place on Friday, February 17 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at participating wineries. This year's event is sponsored by Finney's Chocolate of Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania.

Results from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition are in. As Merritt's first wine competition of the year, the competition's award announcements provide a fresh and promising start to the New Year for deserving the winery.

Merritt Estate Winery continues to win awards right up to the end as this year's wine competition season slowly comes to a close. The winery recently participated in the American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition, held November 8-10 at the Radisson Rochester Riverside in Rochester, NY.

Excitement at Merritt Estate Winery continues to build this week as the company announces that they will again be a major sponsor of this year's Catwalk for Charity. This is the third consecutive year that Merritt will act as the exclusive wine sponsor for the highly anticipated event to be held in Buffalo this December.

While it would seem as though the approaching fall season would be a "winding-down" time for Merritt Estate Winery's event calendar, the time for planning and preparation for the 2012 season is just beginning. The busy organization has recently filled the position of event coordinator, adding even more experience and expertise to their staff.

Merritt Estate Winery will again participate as the exclusive wine sponsor for the Buffalo Police Athletic League's annual fundraising auction. The 11th Annual Fundraising Auction will take place on Tuesday, November 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Salvatore's Italian Gardens in Depew, NY. Proceeds from the auction are used to support the quality programs and services provided by the Buffalo Police Athletic League.

This year has proved very successful in the way of awards for Merritt Estate wines. Merritt recently received honors from the 2011 World Value Wine Challenge and the 3rd Annual NextGen Millennial Wine Competition for Millennial Wine Drinkers.

Wine and hockey enthusiasts came from all over Western New York to Merritt Estate Winery's annual Septemberfest. Each year, the fall festival is held to represent the end of summer and the coming of the fall grape harvest season. Buffalo Sabres Alumni and NHL Hall of Fame inductee Pat LaFontaine joined the festival team this year in an effort to raise money for his self-founded charity, Companions in Courage.

Merritt Estate Winery will celebrate the arrival of this year's grape harvest with the 31st annual Septemberfest. Each year, the winery teams up with an area athlete in an effort to raise money for charity. This year, Merritt will team up with Sabres Alumni and NHL Hall of Fame inductee Pat LaFontaine to raise money for the athlete's self-founded charity, Companions in Courage.

Employees at Merritt Estate Winery will need to start looking for additional space to showcase awards won this year as the results come in from two more wine competitions. The winery recently participated in the Lone Star International Wine Competition and the New York Wine and Food Classic.

The fourth annual America's Grape Country Wine Festival proved to be everything former and first time attendees expected and more. This year's event was a success, leaving both the crowds and participating vendors satisfied and waiting ever so impatiently for next year to arrive.

Merritt Winery has announced that they will be offering $300 per ton for Concord grapes this fall. Merritt is appealing to local farmers in the Lake Erie region to obtain additional premium grapes.

Merritt Estate Winery continues to prove that their wines are more than capable of standing up to national and international competitors. The results are in from two recent competitions, the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition and the Indy International Wine Competition, and Merritt walked away from both with awards in hand.

Tickets are selling out fast as the date quickly approaches for one of Chautauqua County's biggest summertime events, the America's Grape Country Wine Festival. The event boasts being the largest state-wide wine festival in the Western New York area and has become a highly anticipated annual gathering for wine lovers throughout the region.

Merritt Estate Winery continues their road to excellence with impressive wins at the 31st annual San Francisco International Wine Competition. With nearly 4,200 entries from over 1,200 wineries, the fight for the most prestigious awards proved fierce.

Merritt Winery's dessert wine Bella Ice was awarded a double gold medal at Jerry D. Mead's New World International Wine Competition on March 13 and 14, 2011. Merritt's Riesling took a silver medal while Bella Rosa, a sweet, full-bodied Lambrusco was awarded a bronze medal.

The results of the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition are in, awarding Merritt Estate Winery's Bella Rosa and Bella Ice with gold and bronze awards. The competition, which was held on May 17 to 24, 2011, featured various wine categories.

Merritt Estate Winery held their annual free Strawberry Festival this past weekend to raise money for the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Fund. Buffalo Sabres Alumni and current Buffalo Sabres in-game commentator Rob Ray attended the event to help fundraising efforts.

While Merritt Estate Winery is a participant in many different national and international wine competitions throughout the year, it is always most rewarding to receive awards from competitions with a focus closer to home. The winery recently participated in the Great Lakes and Beyond Wine Competition, an event that helps draw attention to the often overlooked wine producers of the Eastern United States.

It seems as though Merritt Estate Winery will have to start looking for additional places to display their awards as results come in from three more wine competitions. The winery recently participated in the 2011 Riverside International Wine Competition, the 2011 Tasters Guild International Wine Judging and the 2011 Ultimate Wine Challenge.

In an effort to provide a chic and entertaining evening for community members looking for a refined night out, two local businesses are working together to host a Winemaker's Dinner. The event will offer an engaging atmosphere celebrating the marriage between fine dining and fine wine.

Merritt Estate Winery recently participated in the Pacific Rim Wine Competition, held at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, California. The local winery proved again that New York wines are worthy of national recognition.

The America's Grape Country Wine Festival has grown in size and reputation as the committee to the event continues to come up with new and inventive ideas to make the festival bigger and better with each passing year. This year, the event will take the biggest leap forward to date as the committee announces Billboard Top 100 and Atlantic Records recording artist Uncle Kracker as headliner for this year's festival.

The results are in from the 28th annual San Diego International Wine Competition, held in San Diego, California, and Merritt Estate succeeds again with an award that is a first for the winery.

Merritt Estate Winery will continue their efforts towards charity donation at this year's Strawberry Festival. The organization will team up with Sabres Alumni Rob Ray to raise money for the hockey icon's charity of choice, the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Fund.

Merritt Estate Winery is heading full force in to their summer festival season and with the excitement come two new additions to the local organization, both ready to make this celebratory season the best yet.

Merritt Estate Winery continues their winning streak with awards from Jerry D. Mead's New World International Wine Competition, held at the Hilton Ontario Airport in Ontario, California.