Butler Winery Wins Rose Wine of the Year at Indy International Wine Competition
There were over 3000 wines entered in the Indy International Wine Competition, June 16-18, 2009 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, including over 300 from California and 20 from France. At the end of the judging one of the top five wines in the International division was a Monroe County, Indiana, grown and produced wine, Butler Winery’s Chambourcin Rosé. Butler Winery, established in 1983, is the fourth oldest operating winery in Indiana. The winery and vineyard are located just 10 minutes from the NE side of Bloomington. Their philosophy has always been to use Indiana-grown grapes in the belief that wine is a reflection of the climate, the soil, and the people who grow the grapes.
“The Indiana wineries went head to head with wines from throughout the world, and brought home 274 medals,” said Jeanette Merritt, marketing director for the Indiana Wine Grape Council. “And for the first time, an Indiana winery brought home a major trophy! For Butler Winery to win Rosé Wine of the Year is a major accomplishment! Winemaker Jim Butler makes many outstanding wines and this proves local wines are high quality and can be judged well against any wine in the world.”
Each wine is evaluated in a blind tasting by a panel of five judges. Wines are judged on a point system for appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste. A wine may be awarded gold, silver, bronze or no medal designation. If all five judges agree that the wine is gold medal quality, it is awarded a concordance gold medal and advances in the competition.
Concordance gold medal wines are separated into categories of red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert wines. Within those categories wines of the same varietal are first judged against one another, for instance only one Cabernet or one Zinfandel can advance. In the case of Butler’s Chambourcin Rosé, it was judged against two other Chambourcin Rosés before advancing to the final Rosé subdivisions of American Rosé, Vinifera Rosé, and Hybrid Rosé. Butler’s Chambourcin Rosé was selected as the top Hybrid Rosé. In the final judging there were three wines, a Zinfandel Rosé(Vinifera), a Catawba Rosé (American), and Butler’s Chambourcin Rosé. All 72 judges evaluate the concordance gold winners as they advance through the final competitions. At no time do they know the identity of the wines that they are judging.
In addition to the “Best of Show Rosé “ trophy, Butler Winery took home seven medals, the double gold for Chambourcin Rosé, a gold medal for Vidal Ice Wine, silver medals for Indiana White and Red Select, and bronze medals for Chambourcin 2006, Late Harvest Vignoles, and Vineyard Red.
Butler Winery, founded in 1983 by Jim and Susie Butler of Bloomington, Indiana is Indiana’s fourth oldest winery, and has tasting rooms at 1022 N. College, and 6200 E. Robinson Rd. in Bloomington. And at 401 Broadway in Chesterton. Most of the wines produced at the winery on Robinson Rd., Bloomington, are made from grapes grown at the Butler Vineyards. “We have always believed that world class wines can be made from Indiana grown grapes, and we are delighted to see that international judges agree with us,” said a very pleased Jim Butler.
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