For the fourth year in a row, Ladner's Grapes 4 U was named U-Vint of the Year at WineMaker Magazine's annual International Amateur Wine Competition.
From April 19 to 21, a total of 4,564 bottles of wine were tasted and judged by experienced, professional panels.
The wines came from all over the world, including all 50 American states, eight provinces and nine countries.
It is the largest wine competition of its kind in the world.
Over the three days, judges spent 2,282 hours tasting and examining all the entries using the University of California - Davis 20-point wine scale.
This evaluates appearance, aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall impression of each entry.
The wines were entered
in 50 separate categories including a broad array of grape varietals and wine styles. Three individual judges tasted each wine.
Winemakers were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for their entries based on the average score assessed by these professionals.
Vermont. Grapes 4 U is classified as a U-Vint - an operation where people can make homemade wines from kits without having to deal with the mess, space or equipment requirements at home.
Earlier this year, Don Stewart, who owns Grapes 4 U, coordinated the shipping of 170 bottles of wine to Burlington Vermont for the competition.
The entries were all vint-ed by Grapes 4 U customers and staff.
The group was awarded 57 medals in all this year - two gold, 14 silver and 41 bronze - and performed better than any other U-Vint group, earning Grapes 4 U the U-Vint of the Year award again.
