LACEY, Wash. — Mosquito Fleet Winery, a boutique producer on Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula paying tribute to the small ferries that buzzed around Puget Sound, used a 2013 Malbec to win best of show honors at the 2017 Capital Food and Wine Festival Wine Competition.
Brian Petersen, a chiropractor who grew up near Bremerton, established his winery with the 2009 vintage. He produces his wines near the historic town of Grapeview, which was home to St. Charles Winery — the state’s first bonded winery in 1933.
The Mason County producer led all wineries with three gold medals, each with a red Bordeaux variety from the 2013 vintage – Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. His stellar Malbec hails from Double Canyon Vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills.
Abiqua Wind Vineyard, Pete Buffington’s small winery and estate vineyards in the Cascade Foothills near the Oregon capital city of Salem, merited the award for best white wine with his 2015 Caleb Knorr Estate Pinot Gris.
Puget Sound vintners support St. Martin’s fundraiser
Puget Sound pioneering grower/winemaker Brent Charnley of Lopez Island Vineyards produced earned gold medals for the judging’s top rosé as well as his perennially delicious estate Siegerrebe, both made from fruit grown last year.
Madsen Family Cellars, a member of the South Puget Sound Trail, used an evolving and resolved fortified Petit Verdot from the Horse Heaven Hills as the best dessert wine of the judging.
Convergence Zone Cellars, a rising brand in Woodinville, shined with gold medals for work with Grenache and Cabernet Franc, both off Red Mountain. Tacoma-based Stina’s Cellars produced gold medals from the Wahluke Slope for its 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon and a rare 2013 Sèmillon Ice Wine.
And Mill Lane Winery from Tenino, which opened a second tasting room last fall in Yakima, wowed judges with fascinating wines made from elderberry and rhubarb – each receiving a gold medal.
Members of St. Martin’s University Alumni Association staged the 28th annual Capital Food and Wine Festival on its campus in Lacey, a bedroom community for the state capital city of Olympia. St. Martin’s is one of 14 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and it the only one west of the Rocky Mountains.
The festival, a fundraiser for the college supported by more than 30 wineries in Washington and Oregon combined, was held March 25 on campus at Marcus Pavilion.
2017 Capital Food and Wine Festival Wine Competition
Best of show/best red
Mosquito Fleet Winery 2013 Malbec, Horse Heaven Hills, $29
Best white
Abiqua Wind Vineyard 2015 Caleb Knorr Estate Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, $15
Best rosé
Lopez Island Vineyards 2016 Rosé, Yakima Valley, $18
Best dessert
Madsen Family Cellars 2012 Heart of Darkness Dessert Wine, Horse Heaven Hills, $25
Gold medal
Convergence Zone Cellars 2013 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Mistral Grenache, Red Mountain, $29
Convergence Zone Cellars 2013 Downburst Cabernet Franc, Red Mountain, $26
Coyote Canyon Winery 2013 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Primitivo, Horse Heaven Hills, $25
H/H Estates 2013 Coyote Canyon Vineyard G W Smith Reserve Malbec, Horse Heaven Hills, $38
Lopez Island Vineyards 2016 Siegerrebe, Puget Sound, $25
Mill Lane Winery NV Elderberry Wine, Washington, $18
Mill Lane Winery NV Rhubarb Wine, Washington, $17
Mosquito Fleet Winery 2013 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley, $32
Mosquito Fleet Winery 2013 Petit Verdot, Horse Heaven Hills, $32
Mount St Helens Cellars 2015 Sangiovese, Yakima Valley, $28
Patterson Cellars 2015 Late Harvest Roussanne, Yakima Valley, $23
Sleeping Dog Wines 2009 Buoy Vineyards Tail Wagger Red Wine, Yakima Valley, $27
Sovereign Cellars 2014 D.W.G. Merlot, Columbia Valley, $35
Stina’s Cellars 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope, $65
Stina’s Cellars 2013 Sèmillon Ice Wine, Wahluke Slope, $65
Westport Winery Garden Resort NV Rapture of the Deep Carbonated Cranberry Wine, Washington, $28
Silver medal
Abiqua Wind Vineyard 2013 Isaac’s Reserve Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $25
Coyote Canyon Winery 2015 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Albariño, Horse Heaven Hills, $19
Coyote Canyon Winery 2013 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Sangiovese, Horse Heaven Hills, $25
Finnigan’s Daughter 2014 Claret, Red Mountain, $28
H/H Estates 2012 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Michael Andrews Reserve Red Wine, Horse Heaven Hills, $38
H/H Estates 2013 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Robert Andrews Reserve Mourvèdre Horse Heaven Hills $38
Lopez Island Vineyards 2013 Merlot, Yakima Valley $20
Love That Red Winery 2013 Daily Double Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $50
Love That Red Winery 2014 Dead Heat Syrah, Columbia Valley, $32
Love That Red Winery 2014 Stakes Race Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $36
Maryhill Winery 2016 Rosé of Sangiovese , Columbia Valley, $16
Mill Lane Winery 2015 Point Guard White Wine, Washington, $16
Mount St Helens Cellars NV A Hot Piece of Ash Syrah Dessert Wine, Yakima Valley, $18
Patterson Cellars 2016 Forbidden Rosé, Columbia Valley, $13
Patterson Cellars NV Due Anni Red Wine, Columbia Valley, $20
Scatter Creek Winery 2014 Fire of the Knight Red Wine, American, $20
Sleeping Dog Wines 2016 Buoy Vineyards Sweet Aurora Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Yakima Valley, $21
Sleeping Dog Wines 2008 Syrah, Yakima Valley, $27
Sovereign Cellars 2014 D.W.G. Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, $35
Westport Winery Garden Resort 2014 Mermaid Merlot, Yakima Valley, $28
Bronze medal
Abiqua Wind Vineyard 2014 Chloe’s Breeze Müller-Thurgau, Willamette Valley, $12
Convergence Zone Cellars 2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Drizzle Pinot Gris, Red Mountain, $17
Finn Hill Winery 2013 The Gnome Riesling, Columbia Valley, $18
H/H Estates 2013 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Reserve Petit Verdot, Horse Heaven Hills, $50
Madsen Family Cellars 2009 Cabernet Franc, Washington, $30
Scatter Creek Winery 2014 Peach Breeze White Table Wine, American, $15
Scatter Creek Winery 2015 Tango with da Mango! Gewürztraminer/Mango White Wine, American, $20
Stina’s Cellars 2014 Millennium Vineyards Siegerrebe, Washington, $18
Stottle Winery 2013 Big Eddie Red Wine Blend, Columbia Valley, $36
Stottle Winery 2012 Elerding 6 Prong Vineyard Syrah, Horse Heaven Hills, $32
Stottle Winery 2014 Lucille Late Harvest Viognier, Yakima Valley, $20
Westport Winery Garden Resort NV Peaches on the Beaches White Wine Blend, Washington, $27
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