FORTH WORTH, Texas (PRWEB) – Come join the competition! The Botanical Research Institute of Texas and FIVS are pleased to announce the start of their 2020 sustainable winegrowing competition. Competition applications can be downloaded from BRIT’s web site at http://www.brit.org/wineaward and from the FIVS website http://www.fivs.org. The submission deadline for applications is September 30, 2019.
This is the first BRIT/FIVS co-branded and co-managed competition since the event began in 2010. The new partnership engages FIVS’s global membership of regional wine associations, wine producers and distributors to support and promote the competition.
The award attracts progressive and passionate wine organizations from around the world that are taking a leading role in “ground to glass” sustainable programs. The competition is based on the continuous improvement of the three tenets of sustainability – environment, economic, and social – and wine flavor.
The competition application consists of 20 high-level self-assessment questions in which applicants describe their organization’s conservation efforts in the vineyard and in operations. Examples include how waste is avoided, how it is reclaimed, and how the winery extends conservation efforts to its customers. Practices established to maintain environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically feasible winemaking principles are detailed. Two bottles of wine must also be provided for a tasting by the judging committee. The competition has an entry fee of $50 USD.
International entrants may use their US distributors to forward their wine samples to BRIT or may use BRIT’s consignee, La Cigale Wines of Fort Worth, Texas, to clear shipments and provide COLA Waivers. If wishing to use La Cigale Wines, please contact Edward Proctor, La Cigale Wines, at (817) 923-6747 or email, ed@lacigalewines.com before shipping.
Previous platinum award recipients include: Casa Ferreirinha, 2019, Alexander Valley Vineyards (2018), Yealands Family Wines, (2017), Buzet (2016), LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards (2014), Yalumba (2013), Trefethen Family Vineyards (2012), Parducci Wine Cellars (2011), and HALL Wines (2010).
The competition begins May 1, 2019 with a submission deadline of September 30, 2019. Winners will be announced in November. Platinum, gold, silver, and bronze-level medals are awarded to top-placing entries.
The competition’s overall winner will be presented with BRIT/FIVS International Sustainable Winegrowing glass sculpture in Fort Worth in January 2020, during BRIT’s Vine to Table award presentation and dinner.
The tasting will bring together wine aficionados and collectors for an extremely rare showcase of Laurel Glen vintages across four decades. Current winemaker Randall Watkins will be joined by the estate’s founding winemaker, Patrick Campbell, as well as Proprietor and Managing Partner Bettina Sichel and winegrower Phil Coturri to provide ‘behind the vine’ perspectives. This special event will be moderated by Esther Mobley, wine critic and journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, who will provide insight and perspective on the nuances of each vintage.
The much-anticipated weekend’s events range from educational seminars to a live music BBQ, grand tasting, winemaker dinners and free winery open houses – all hosted amidst the spectacular beauty of Anderson Valley’s vineyards and towering redwood trees. Music lovers will be happy to learn about an added bonus – this year Camp Navarro will host a concert on Saturday evening. The events have achieved a loyal following for being distinctively uncrowded and unpretentious, with an array of Pinot Noir styles that serve as the ideal introduction (or refresher course!) to the Anderson Valley.
“The Appellation Collection is a highly sought-after wine gift,” said Remi Cohen, Vice President and General Manager at Cliff Lede Vineyards and President of the Stags Leap District Winegrowers Association. “It is an exclusive collection that allows wine lovers to experience the entire District in one complete horizontal set. Each bottle unveils the unique terroir and soft tannin structure that makes the Stags Leap District the iconic region it is.”
To further support relief efforts from the recent fires, 5% of the proceeds from this year’s Saturday Open House tickets will be donated to the Napa Valley Community Foundation. Additionally, for the first time and to kick-off the Saturday festivities, there will be a Vineyard ‘Walk and Talk’ with vintner Jim Regusci to hear a firsthand account of the harrowing tales about the Napa Valley October fires and discuss vineyard management and landscape recovery.
The Gala celebration is a strolling wine tasting through the barrel cellar of Mer Soleil, a venue not normally open to the public. Guests enjoy limited release Santa Lucia Highland poured by the vintners themselves. Participating wineries include: August West, Belle Glos, Bernardus, Boekenoogen, Bruliam, Caraccioli Cellars, Cima Collina, Estancia, Hahn Family Wines, Hope & Grace, J. Lohr, J. McFarland, Joyce, 
Through the years, Hospice du Rhône has played host to a diverse set of international Rhône personalities, tasted attendees on Rhône wines found only at the Paso Robles conference and has been the launching platform for many Rhône focused wineries. The 2018 event will continue this tradition by uniting an international group of winemakers, importers, enthusiasts, sommeliers and media who all share a passion for the twenty-two Rhône varieties.
AVV is one of an elite group of wineries recognized as a Bay Area Green Business. They became a member of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program in 2006 and achieved vineyard certification in 2014. AVV bottled their first wine produced from organic certified grapes in 2008, today the family organically farms over 30 acres and offers two wines from 100% California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) grapes. A second family vineyard will receive CCOF certification in June 2018. Other AVV sustainable initiatives include solar arrays that supply about half of the winery’s power; cover crop plantings to minimize pesticide use and control erosion; drip irrigation for precise water management; 25,000 square feet of underground, naturally cooled caves that reduce the winery’s carbon footprint; and installation of variable speed drives on all winery equipment to decrease energy waste.
