Arizona wine label awarded five gold, six silver medals at Dallas Morning News & TexSom Wine Competition, Tasters Guild Annual International Wine Judging
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards has continued to wow wine industry critics since the label’s founding in 2007. This year, the Arizona label is proud to announce a strong showing at the 2012 The Dallas Morning News and TexSom Wine Competition as well as the 2012 Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition.
Arizona Stronghold was recognized last year with more than twenty awards for the label’s Tazi, Dala, Nachise and Site Archive wines, yielded from fruit grown in Arizona’s high desert – ten 2011 Jefferson Cup Awards among them. “The award recognition we’ve received for our wines has been especially sweet because we’re seeing our wines stack up against some of the best wine in the world – and gaining recognition not just as an Arizona wine, but within the wine world at large,” said Paula Woolsey, National Sales Manager for Arizona Stronghold Vineyards.
The Dallas Morning News and TexSom Wine Competition – now in its 28th year – encourages wines to be entered for evaluation by its panel of judges, considered to be among the best tasters in the world. The two-day 2012 competition was held at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas February 19-20. The 15 judging panels – comprised of wine critics, distributors, importers, sommeliers, Master Sommeliers, and Masters of Wine, including 11 Master Sommeliers and 11 Masters of Wine – more than any other U.S. wine competition – tasted through nearly 3,300 wine entries. Entries spanned 13,000 glasses of wine representing 25 states and 18 countries. Arizona Stronghold’s 2010 Nachise took home a gold medal in the competition’s Red Blend category – among only 172 given and silver medals for its 2010 Mandala Red and White in its Red Blend and Viognier categories respectively.
This year’s Dallas Morning News and TexSom Wine Competition was the first held by whichwines were grouped by country and appellation for judgment, as opposed to categorization by grape variety – a distinctive change made to more fairly consider wines in the context of their respective regions.
The Tasters Guild, a society of wine and food lovers consisting of 30 active chapters and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently announced medal winners in its 25th Annual International Wine Judging, Arizona Stronghold being one of 2,000 entrants to the competition, conducted at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The wine label came away with four gold medals for its Stronghold Wines’ 2010 Mandala Red, 2010 Nachise, 2010 Dala Chardonnay and 2010 Dala Cabernet Sauvignon. Arizona Stronghold’s 2010 Tazi, 2009 Mangus, 2010 Syrah Nursery and Stronghold Wines’ 2010 Mandala White won silver medals from the Tasters Guild competition.
Tim White, Winemaker for Arizona Stronghold Vineyards commented, “This recognition is something for all of us to be proud of. The success we’re experiencing is the culmination of a lot of hard work from many different people – both past and present. There is much for our state to be proud of, and our only hope is that we can continue to make our small contribution toassist in elevating Arizona wine into the appropriate spotlight.”
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards led off 2012 by grabbing the attention of The Tasting Panel Magazine’s Anthony Dias-Blue, who recognized the label’s 2010 Nachise, scoring the red blend 90 points in a March review. Dias-Blue called the wine “generous, fresh and charming.” Arizona Stronghold Vineyards was named the official winery of the Arizona Centennial in 2011 and announced the launch of its peripheral label, Stronghold Wines in 2011. Stronghold Wines produces the label’s – now award-winning Mandala Red and White Rhône blends.
