Rooster Hill’s Estate Gewurztraminer Wins Award

Rooster Hill Vineyards’ 2009 Estate Gewurztraminer won Best of Class at the Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition in California over the weekend.The Grand Cru competition is considered one of the top international wine contests held in the United States. The event held July 17 and 18 at the Long Beach Petroleum Club and the winning wineries were notified this week.Rooster Hill’s Estate Gewurztraminer also received a Gold Medal in Long Beach. The wine will be among those announced and enjoyed at a public tasting event on Aug. 21 at the Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach. The Grand Cru competition, started in 1995, is a fund-raiser for the benefit of the Legal Foundation of Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services for needy residents. Rooster Hill co-owner Amy Hoffman is excited by the Best of Class choice and the future prospects of the 2009 Gewurztraminer. The wine was among several New York State wines to win honors in the competition, which included a total of 1,488 wines from around the world.“Gewurztraminer can be a fussy grape,” Hoffman said. “Over the past few years we havehoned our viticulture and winemaking skills to craft a wonderful style that has earned Best of Class distinction in a highly competitive and respected competition. We are very proud that our hard work is being rewarded.”The Rooster Hill Gewurztraminer is made from grapes in a single vineyard, the winery’s Catherine Vineyard. The winery’s Web site describes it as follows: “aromatic with soft, pretty rose petal, accented by hints of citrus, grass and Asian spice. A bright and refreshing wine with a creamy honey finish.” Two other Rooster Hill white wines won Silver Medals at the Grand Cru competition: the 2008 Estate Semi-Dry Riesling and the 2009 Medium Sweet Riesling. The Medium Sweet Riesling is a new style for Rooster Hill, Hoffman noted. The wine is Estate grown and packed with apricot and peach flavors, she noted.Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, was one of the judges at the Grand Cru competition. Trezise said the contest’s results continue a trend in which New York wines are increasingly recognized at competitions in California, other states and in other nations.“And it’s great to see how aware the true wine cognoscenti are about the quality of New York wines, and how happy they are when those wines are recognized. My friends in California clapped when all the New York winners were announced!” Trezise said in an e-mail.Rooster Hill Vineyards is on the east side of Keuka Lake at 489 Route 54. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.roosterhill.com.