Gilmer Winery Wins Award at GrapeFest
The 37th annual GrapeFest – A Texas Wine Experience presented by Bank of the West – has wrapped up we’re celebrating some of the winners at this year’s festival contests and some of the winners came from the Gilmer area! Rowdy Creek Ranch Vineyards was recognized for its wine in the red medium category at the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic.
37TH ANNUAL GRAPEFEST – A TEXAS WINE EXPERIENCE IS A WRAP! WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINE TASTING CLASSIC AND OTHER EVENTS
The four-day festival took place September 14, 15, 16 and 17 in Grapevine, Texas
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS (September 21, 2023) – The 37th Annual GrapeFest – A Texas Wine Experience presented by Bank of the West (108 W. Northwest Hwy.) wrapped up Sunday, September 17 after four days of family-friendly festival fun! Grapevine and Barossa, South Australia solidified their relationship as International Sister Cities on Saturday, September 16. There was plenty of wine, a KidZone, Carnival Midway, live music, food, shopping and a lot more.
Thousands of attendees took part in the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic sponsored by Audi Grapevine (1260 E. State Hwy 114). The largest consumer-judged wine competition in the United States featured 35 Texas wineries. Wine was judged in ten different categories during ten 90-minute Tasting Sessions Thursday, September 14 through Sunday, September 17. Guests received a wine reference guide describing the featured wines along with a ballot. Awards were presented Sunday, September 17 at 5 p.m. in the People’s Choice Pavilion.
Red: Bold
- Gold: Bull Lion Ranch – Tempranillo, 2019
- Silver: Landon Winery – The Texan, 2021
- Bronze: Whiskey Road Winery – Tempranillo, 2020
Red: Blends
- Gold: Bull Lion Ranch – Texianti, 2019
- Silver: Blue Ostrich Winery – Table One, 2021
- Bronze: Llano Estacado Winery – Meritage Red Blend, 2018
Red: Medium
- Gold: Bull Lion Ranch – Montepluciano, 2020
- Silver: Whiskey Road Winery – Black Spanish, 2021 • Bronze: Rowdy Creek Ranch Vineyards – Merlot, 2022
Red: Light
- Gold: Messina Hof Winery – GSM, 2021
- Silver: Silver Dollar Winery – Peace Maker Merlot Reserve, 2019 • Bronze: Bull Lion Ranch – Sangiovese, 2020
Red: Sweet
- Gold: Silver Dollar Winery – Boot Scootin’ Boogie Chocolate, 2021 • Silver: Sweet Taste of Paradise Winery – Acai Raspberry, NV • Bronze: Texas Legato – The Eyes of Texas Sweet Surrender, NV
White: Dry
- Gold: Juniper Cove Winery – Petals, 2019
- Silver: Slate Theory – Viognier, 2021
- Bronze: Whiskey Road Winery – Viognier, 2021
White: Off Dry
- Gold: Messina Hof Winery – Tribute Series Riesling, 2021 • Silver: Tara Winery – Blueberry Blanc, 2022
- Bronze: Silver Dollar Winery – Texan Redback Riesling, 2022
White: Blends
- Gold: Silver Dollar Winery – IM’Peached, 2022
- Silver: Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards – Prima Donna, 2021 • Bronze: Rusty Hook Winery – Caye Verde, 2022
White: Sweet
- Gold: Juniper Cove Winery – Peachy Keen, NV
- Silver: Sweet Taste of Paradise Winery – Peach Paradise, NV • Bronze: Messina Hof Winery – Angel, Late Harvest Riesling, NV
Blush/Rosé
- Gold: Kiepersol – Flight, NV
- Silver: Whiskey Road Winery – Rosé, 2020
- Bronze: Blue Ostrich Winery – Rosato Moscato, NV
Texas wineries in attendance at the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic included: Rowdy Creek Ranch Vineyards, Pillar Bluff Vineyards, Valle Della Pace Vineyard and Winery, Kiepersol, Slate Theory, Texas Legato, Bingham Family Vineyards, Frascone Winery, Saviana Winery, Landon Winery, Llano Estacado Winery, Checkered Past Winery, Arché, Sweet Taste of Paradise Winery, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards, O’Farrell Country Vineyards, Whiskey Road Winery, Becker Vineyards, Messina Hof Winery, Rio to Red Winery, Silver Dollar Winery, Wedding Oak Winery, Valley Mills Vineyards, Descarado Winery, H-Wines, Tara Winery, En Gedi Vineyards and Winery, Lost Oak Winery, Horn Winery, Bull Lion Ranch and Vineyard, Juniper Cove Winery, Deschain Cellars, Blue Ostrich Winery & Vineyard, Watson Vineyard and Rusty Hook Winery.
The winner for the GrapeFest Grand Stomp-Off sponsored by Thryv (Headquartered in DFW) and the coveted Purple Foot Award was “Team Random” made up of Alex Miranda, from Irving, Texas and Jonathan Espinoza from Dallas, Texas. The final stomp was a close one! The team pressed out 34 ounces of grape juice in two minutes time to beat the other finalists by three-quarters of an ounce!
The winner of the GrapeStomp Mayoral Stomp came all the way from Grapevine’s new Sister City in Barossa, South Australia. Mayor Bim Lange and Joanne Moen took the championship Saturday morning. They competed against Grapevine, and two of its Sister Cities: Parras de la Fuente, Mexico and West Lothian, Scotland. Mayors and other officials from Arlington, Bedford, Denton, Euless, Farmers Branch, Forest Hill, Hurst, Irving, Keller, Lewisville, North Richland Hills, Pantego, Town of Flower Mound and Trophy Club all took part in the Mayoral Stomp.
The winner of the Champagne Cork Shoot-Off Grand Shoot-Off is Lori Chlan from St. Joseph, Minnesota. She hit the 200 target to qualify for the Grand Cork-Off then in the championship she hit closest to 700 to win it all! This event was sponsored by Texas Gun Experience (1901 S. Main Street).
The winner of the Qantas Australia Getaway, receiving a free six-night/seven-day trip-of-a-lifetime for two to Barossa, South Australia is Karen Gail Wood from Richardson, Texas. She couldn’t believe her luck and said Australia has always been on her bucket list.
The winners of the GrapeFest Tennis & Pickleball Tournaments produced by TNT Tennis include GrapeFest Tennis Open Singles winner Ilgiz Valiev (Dallas, Texas), GrapeFest Open Doubles Winners Ty Gentry (Olympia, WA) & Daniel Moreno (Dallas) and GrapeFest Pickleball Open Doubles winners Dallas Dunn (Ft. Worth, Texas) & Warren Fulgenzi (San Antonio, Texas).
Love was in the air at GrapeFest, there were at least two marriage proposals. Both ladies said “Yes!”
The 38th Annual GrapeFest – A Texas Wine Experience will take place September 12, 13, 14 and 15, 2024.