NC State Fair Wine Competition

The North Carolina State Fair is held every October at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.  Each year as part of the State Fair, a wine competition is also held.  There are two categories.  One is the Commercial Category.  The other is the Amateur Category.  Changes have been made to competition.  Let’s talk about the Commercial Category specifically!

The first change involves requirements for the entered wine to be at least 75% from North Carolina.  This means wines must be made from grapes, other fruit, or honey of which 75% came from North Carolina.  It is the North Carolina State Fair after all.  The product should reflect the terroir of North Carolina.  Winning wines will have their contents verified by the North Carolina Wine & Grape Council.

The second change is the winning categories.  The new categories are:

• Best Bunch Grape Wine – This category is for wines made from Vitis Vinifera (wine grapes) and hybrids grapes.
• Best Muscadine Wine – This category is for wines made from a variety of Muscadine grapes.
• Best Fruit / Honey Wine – This category is for wines made from non-grape fruits or meads.

Wines will be judged blind using the 20 point American Wine Society scale.  Here’s a break down of the scoring:

• Appearance – 3 points maximum
• Aroma / Bouquet – 6 points maximum
• Taste / Texture – 6 points maximum
• Aftertaste – 3 points maximum
• Overall Impression – 2 points maximum

Wines will be served at the correct temperature for each varietal.  Appropriate glassware will also be used as Riedel has graciously donated tasting glasses for the event.

The competition is moving this year.  In most years the competition is held in Raleigh.  This year the competition will be held in Dobson at Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture & Enology at Surry Community College.  The competition begins on Friday, August 18, 2017, with an opening reception and training for the judges.  Wine judging will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 19-20, 2017.

Speaking of judges, that’s where we come in!  We’re very excited to have been invited to judge this year’s competition.  Joining us will be American Wine Society Certified Wine Judges, other area bloggers, and area media.  Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a behind the scenes look at the competition.

Results of the competition will be posted on the NC State Fair‘s website and the NC Wine & Grape Council‘s website.  We’ll, of course, share the results when they are publicly available.

For more details about the competition, see the official rules here.

Thanks for your support of #NCWine!  Cheers!