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2016: An Olympic Year for Black Willow Winery

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Burt, NY – Black Willow Winery had a banner year for medals as they begin to wrap up their 6th year in business.

The winning streak that began in early January of this year brought home another Double Gold award for the popular Classic Diamond wine at the Tasters Guild International (www.tastersguild.com).

For those keeping score in Olympic medal fashion, the Tasters Guild rounds out the standings as follows: 3 Double Gold, 11 Gold, 25 Silver, 9 Bronze.

Black Willow’s Wines also were highly rated again by the Beverage Tasting Institute (www.tasting.com) throughout the year. Two wines this year were rated over 90pts, (equivalent to a Gold medal), while a staggering 11 wines were rated between 80-89 points, (equivalent to a Silver medal). The ratings institute is an industry standard for measuring the quality of wines. They also awarded two wines a prestigious “Best in Class” and “Best Buy.”

2016 also continued the Winery’s reign of “New York Mead Producer of the Year,” an honor given by the New York International Wine Competition for the second year in a row. The competition also awarded their signature mead (honey wine), Odin’s Nectar, a silver medal.

A complete list of the awards and accolades for the year 2016 from January through October are summarized below:

Tasters Guild International

DOUBLE GOLD – Classic Diamond

SILVER – Trilogy Red

SILVER – Chardonnay

SILVER – Trilogy White

SILVER – Bare Cat Blush

SILVER – Black Widow Berry

Canberra International Riesling Challenge 2016

BRONZE – Riesling

Beverage Tasting Institute: US Chardonnay Review – November 2016

BRONZE (83 PTS) – Chardonnay

World Value Wine Challenge: Beverage Tasting Institute (Tastings.com)

90 pts – GOLD & Best Buy – Trilogy Red

85 pts – SILVER – Trilogy White

85 pts – SILVER – Classic Diamond

Indy International Wine Competition

SILVER – Trilogy White

SILVER – Trilogy Red

New York State Fair Commercial Wine Competition

DOUBLE GOLD – Black Widow Berry

GOLD – Bare Cat Blush

GOLD – DePeche Meow

SILVER – Classic Diamond

SILVER – Trilogy Red

BRONZE – Trilogy White

New York International Wine Competition

2016 MEAD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

SILVER – Odin’s Nectar

International Women’s Wine Competition

SILVER – Cabernet Franc

SILVER – 2014 Trilogy Red

SILVER – 2014 Trilogy White

Ultimate Wine Challenge

93 pts – Valkyrie’s Lure Mead

85 pts – Classic Diamond 2014

88 pts – Trilogy White 2014

Pacific Rim Wine Competition

GOLD –  Classic Diamond

Tasters Guild International Wine Competition

SILVER – Trilogy Red

SILVER – Trilogy White

Beverage Tasting Institute Summer Whites and Rosés

87 pts – SILVER – Trilogy White

85 pts – SILVER – Bare Cat Blush

88 pts – SILVER – Classic Diamond

Beverage Tasting Institute Wine Category Results

87 points – SILVER – BEST BUY – 2014 Chardonnay

Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

SILVER – Classic Diamond

BRONZE – Bare Cat Blush

BRONZE – DePeche Meow (peach, Vidal Blanc)

Florida State Fair International Wine and Grape Juice Competition

DOUBLE GOLD – Bare Cat Blush

GOLD – Classic Diamond

GOLD – Black Widow Berry

BRONZE – DePeche Meow

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

GOLD – Bare Cat Blush

GOLD – Black Widow Berry (red blend)

BEST IN CLASS – GOLD – Classic Diamond

GOLD – DePeche Meow (fruit wine)

GOLD – Trilogy White (white blend)

BRONZE – Riesling

International Eastern Wine Competition (East Meets West)

GOLD – Classic Diamond

SILVER – Black Widow Berry

BRONZE – Cabenet Franc

BRONZE – Valkyrie’s Lure

Beverage Tasting Institute Dessert Fortified & Fruit Wines Category:

SILVER (88 pts) – 2004 Flight 6-1-37

SILVER BEST BUY (86 pts) – DePeche Meow

Black Willow Winery’s wines are available for tasting and purchase at the winery, in their online store, and in stores and restaurants throughout Western New York. For more information on the awards or current wine and mead offerings, contact Black Willow Winery at 716-439-1982 or email sales@blackwillowwinery.com.

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Contact:

Cynthia West-Chamberlain, Black Willow Winery LLC

5565 West Lake Rd., Burt, NY 14028 / 716-439-1982 / BlackWillowWinery.com