Illinois
Bella Vista winery wins Governor’s Cup Award
Lisa Ellis, second from proper, presents the Governor’s Cup Award to vintner Cory Kunkle Friday. That is the primary time Bella Vista Wineries has earned this honor, certainly one of solely 5 awarded this yr. With them are, from left, Steve Gorazd, his spouse, Angela and their son, Matthew.
For the primary time in its three years of existence, Hidden Lake and Bella Vista Wineries acquired its first Illinois Governor’s Cup Award on Friday from the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance (IGGVA).
Lisa Ellis, govt director of the group, introduced the crystal plaque and silver-plated cup to a ceremony at Bella Vista. She honored the vineyard homeowners, the Gorazds (the ‘d’ is silent), Steve, Angela and Matthew, together with vintner Cory Kunkle.
In totality, Bella Vista Wineries earned 13 medals this yr – one bronze, 5 silvers, one gold and 6 double-golds with the sixth being a double-gold and a governor’s cup winner, which was solely certainly one of 5 wines in Illinois to earn this accolade.
“All of those award-winning wines have been produced with Illinois-grown grapes, which is required for a wine to be thought-about for a Governor’s Cup Award,” Ellis informed the viewers. She mentioned three of the wines acquired best-in-class designations.
“It’s crucial,” Steve Gorazds mentioned of the win. “We’ve owned Hidden Lake Vineyard for five.5 years and this one for 3 years. Yearly, we enter wines within the Illinois contest.”
He mentioned that is the primary time Bella Vista received the Governor’s Cup honor. Bella Vista Vineyard is positioned in Maryville; Hidden Lake is positioned southwest of Aviston.
Ellis mentioned 357 wines entered within the competitors, 297 of which have been within the business class. There are 4 wine-growing areas in Illinois.
“This [year] was the state’s largest business competitors since 2009!” Ellis mentioned. “At the moment, solely 10.58% of the business entries acquired gold or double gold medals. This yr, that proportion was 30 and displays the numerous enhancements made within the Illinois wine grape business over time.”
She mentioned that is the consequence when you may have the right instruments, coaching and schooling. Ellis capped her remarks by presenting the highest award (that are for wines produced from any appellation) for non-grape wines for 12 Paws.
“The fruit for this wine simply occurs to be grown in Illinois by Schwartz Orchard,” she mentioned.
Ellis additionally offered the Governor’s Cup Award for a blush/rosé hybrid/vinifera for Off-Responsibility.
“Governor’s Cup Award wines should be produced with Illinois fruit and this wine had two growers: Beaver Creek Winery and Zucherbach,” Ellis mentioned.
The IGGVA fashioned in 1992 and is an agricultural non-profit group devoted to creating the viticulture and enology pursuits in Illinois.
For wine-lovers who take pleasure in a great Illinois classic of vino, Ellis mentioned there’s a new smartphone app out there at www.illinoiswine.com/app. It permits customers to find wineries statewide, Illinois wine trails, VIP Wineries, gold medal winners and signature sequence rosé.