FORESTVILLE Merritt Estate Winery is the most award-winning winery along the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail. In July, Merritt competed in an international wine competition in California with 470 other wineries from around the world. Merritt's Bella Rosa, the winery's best selling wine, won the prestigious Chairman's Best of Class award.
The Long Beach Grand Cru International Wine Competition, which is one of the top international wine competitions in the United States, took place on July 19-20 and was held at the Long Beach Petroleum Club in Long Beach, CA. The competition producers received over 1,947 wine submissions from across the world. Some countries that were represented were Italy, Mexico, South Africa, United States, Australia, New Zealand, France and Argentina, among others.
The Long Beach Grand Cru International Wine Competition is the ninth competition that Merritt has competed and won in this year, with this being their second Chairman's Best of Class award in 2008. To qualify for the Chairman's Best of Class award, a wine must have already won a gold medal at the competition. The wines are then stripped of their brand labels and presented to a panel of judges. The panel of judges, which are various professionals in the industry, grade the wine strictly based on its varietal and taste. The award is considered a tremendous honor among the judges and Merritt is proud to announce that the Bella Rosa beat out all of the competition.
"Whenever we win an award at a wine competition, it is a reminder of why we continue to produce wines every year," said William Merritt, President of Merritt Estate Winery. "My goal when we started creating wines here in 1976 was to provide world class wine to everyone. When we win awards on a global scale like this, we have achieved that goal. I'm proud of where this winery has come and where we are going."
After the wine competition concluded, all remaining wines were donated to a fundraiser held in August at the Long Beach Rainbow Lagoon. The event helps raise money for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to help fund quality legal services for seniors, low-income families and battered women. Over $334,000 was raised for the foundation with Merritt's help, among others.
For more information on Merritt Estate Winery news and events, call 888-965-4800 or visit www.merrittestatewinery.com.
Merritt Estate is located in the largest grape growing region of New York State. The grapes and wines produced under Merritt rival the quality of premium vintages throughout the world.