Merritt Estate Winery's Bella Rosa Wins Best of Class Award in California - July 22, 2009
FORESTVILLE, N.Y. (July 22, 2009) – In 2008, Merritt Estate Winery won the Chairman’s Best of Class award for its popular Bella Rosa wine at the Long Beach Grand Cru International Wine Competition in Long Beach, California. The winery is proud to announce that the same success has continued this year as the Bella Rosa won the Best of Class award for 2009.
The Long Beach Grand Cru International Wine Competition was held on July 18 and 19 at the Long Beach Petroleum Club in Long Beach, California. The competition is currently in its fifteenth year.
Merritt Estate Winery has been competing in the LBGC for several years now, with their highest accolades coming in the last two years. Aside from the Bella Rosa winning the Chairman’s Best of Class award, it was also nominated for the Sweepstakes Award, which is the Best of Show.
“We are excited that the Bella Rosa won the Best of Class award for the second year in a row,” said Edwin Rodriguez, Marketing and Promotions Director for Merritt Estate Winery. “We’re proud that our wine can win such a prestigious award on a regular basis. It shows that we are consistent with our flavor and that the quality of our wine is unmatched,” said Rodriguez. Merritt has won a total of five gold medals so far in 2009 among seven competitions.
The LBGC wine competition is centered on a “blind tasting”. A blind tasting refers to a style of wine judging that removes all names and vineyard designations from the product. It is then given a number and is referred to by that number for the duration of the competition. This ensures that the judges cannot be swayed by previous awards, geographical designations or other biases. The wines can be judged solely on their flavor. Merritt Estate Winery’s Bella Rosa has a unique flavor to the California wine industry. It is made of Concord grapes, which are in abundance in Western New York. Concords are scarce in California, however, and the unique Concord flavor that Bella Rosa offers is very appreciated by the competitions judges on the other side of the country.
For more information on Merritt Estate Winery news and events, call 888-965-4800 or visit www.merrittestatewinery.com.
Merritt Estate is located in the largest grape growing region of New York State. The grapes and wines produced under Merritt rival the quality of premium vintages throughout the world.