Alberta-based berry and fruit wine company Field Stone Fruit Wines is celebrating its first Best of Type Award in the Fortified Wine Category for its recently released black currant dessert wine at the 2010 NorthWest Wine Summit competition in Oregon, USA.
The NorthWest Wine Summit is one of the region’s oldest and most popular competitions, with 24 judges from around the world judging 1,200 wines over three days.
This new Top of Category Award puts the Strathmore area winery on the same notable list as the Okanagan-based Mission Hill Family Estate Riesling Icewine, and vineyards from Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Alaska.
“Black currants have been used in winemaking for centuries, and now for the first time, Alberta-grown black currants have been recognized on the world’s stage,” said Marvin Gill, partner at Field Stone Fruit Wines.
“We couldn’t be happier.”
Field Stone also went on to win a gold medal for the same black currant dessert wine, silver medals for its rare strawberry-rhubarb wine and its delicate raspberry dessert wine and an additional Best of Region Award for representing Alberta.
The award for Field Stone’s fortified wine was presented just as the winery launched its newest table wine for summer 2010 - black currant fruit wine.
This expands the five-year-old company’s product line to 10 farm fresh varieties.
“This exciting new fruit wine is our driest offering to date. Slightly oaked, creating an earthy but refined flavour with a hint of berry on the finish,” said Gill.
“Perfect for patio sipping when you want something a bit different.”
To date, both black currant wines have proven to be popular at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, with sales stronger than usual since the season opened.
“It certainly seems to be the summer of the black currant,” said Gill.
In addition to black currant, Field Stone’s four other fruit wine varieties include: bumbleberry, cherry, raspberry, and strawberry-rhubarb. Its four other dessert wines include: saskatoon berry, raspberry, strawberry, and wild black cherry.
Field Stone wines are available at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, Bearspaw Farmers’ Market, Grassroots (Northlands) Farmers’ Market, Kingsland Farmers’ Market, Sylvan Lake Farmers’ Market, Lethbridge Farmers’ Market, and Brooks Farmers’ Market, as well as directly from the Field Stone winery in Strathmore from May through September.
Visit www.fieldstonefruitwines.com for information, recipes and pairing suggestions.
