N.H. winery brings home the gold

Jewell Towne Vineyards of South Hampton has earned 24 medals, including two golds, in recent national and regional wine competitions.

The Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, held in April in Rochester, N.Y., honored the vineyard with a silver medal for its bold red 2005 Maréchal Foch and a bronze for its non-vintage Maréchal Foch.

This competition draws in hundreds of winemakers from around the world, including such famous labels as Kendall-Jackson and Robert Mondavi of California and Jacob’s Creek of Australia.

At the Northeast Gold Wine Competition held in May during the Eastern State’s Expositions in West Springfield, Mass., Jewell Towne’s Cayuga White, a slightly sweet white wine, took a gold medal and was named “Best Wine in New Hampshire.” Seven other of its wines won silver and bronze medals.

The Northeast Gold Wine Competition features wines made exclusively in New England and New York.

In June, Jewell Towne won nine medals at the Amenti del Vino competition in Mystic, Conn., the oldest wine society in the Northeast, including a gold for its Riesling.

At last month’s Indy Wine Competition at the Indiana State Fair, Jewell Towne was honored with five silver and two bronze medals. The Indy is the one of the largest wine competitions in the country, featuring over 3,600 wines from 17 countries.

“As the winery gains experience, our wines continue to improve. These awards tell us what we already know – the wines get better every year!” said Peter Oldak, Jewell Towne Vineyard’s owner and winemaker. “When we first began competing with our wines, we won a lot of bronze and the occasional silver medals. Now we’re winning silver and gold. We’re working hard to make sure this trend continues.” — CINDY KIBBE