Catoctin Breeze Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2016 was awarded the “Best in Show” at the 2018 Maryland Comptroller’s Cup Wine Competition. The competition, judged by wine industry professionals in a blind tasting, was held in May. In addition, 10 wines from across the state were named “Best in Class” in their respective categories.
For more information or a full list of winners, visit www.marylandwine.com.
The Annual Comptroller’s Cup Competition is directed by Al Spoler, host of WYPR’s Cellar Notes, and brings together wine makers from across the state for the opportunity to taste and evaluate each other’s wine. The competition is blind: judges only know the composition of the wine, not the label, price, intended market or any other details. Panels of four judges are given flights of wine spanning single categories and asked to evaluate objectively.
“New wineries continue to delight the judges with their high-quality wines,” said competition director, Al Spoler.
Catoctin Breeze Vineyard is located in Thurmont on the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains. The estate vineyard benefits from a constant breeze, which gave the winery its name. “We set our sights on producing the best, terroir driven wines that our land could offer; wines that are handcrafted with minimal intervention, that truly reflect a unique time and place,” said Adam Fizyta of Catoctin Breeze Vineyard. “This quality fruit, combined with our unique small batch fermentation method, barrel selection techniques, and overall meticulous care in the cellar allowed Mike Lentini to craft this exceptional vintage.”
“Maryland wines continue to show consistent high quality, displayed by the very high percentage of silver, gold and double gold medals,” said Joe Fiola, Ph.D, viticulturist with the University of Maryland Extension. “Another exciting message of this competition was Southern Maryland’s garnering of nearly half of the best in class honors,” Fiola said.
Please RSVP if you plan to attend the ceremony on June 19 at 10:30am.
