Priam Vineyards wins medals at competition

COLCHESTER – Three Connecticut wines handcrafted at Priam Vineyards rose to the top at the ninth annual New York International Wine Competition in 2019, earning gold, silver and bronze medals. As a result of its strong showing, Priam Vineyards was named Connecticut Winery of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. Judging results were announced from more than 1,400 wine submissions from large producers as well as boutique wineries in over 24 countries.

Priam Vineyards, a solarpowered winery and sustainable vineyard nestled in Colchester’s Salmon River Watershed, has won a total of 17 international medals this year for its estategrown, vegancertified wines that are blended, bottled and cellared on premises. In the International East Meets West Wine Challenge judged earlier in 2019, Priam wines won 10 medals including double golds for Blackledge Red, Westchester Red and Muscat Ottonel, which was also named Best of Class. Priam’s gold medal in the New York International Wine Competition was for its handcrafted Jeremy River White.

“Holding high ground against the California giants and competing with outstanding wines from all over the world is energizing,” said Priam Vineyards founder and coowner Gloria Priam. “The new sustainable vineyard practices that were conceived by our vintner Ruaan Viljoen have been beautifully executed by our vineyard property manager. Our grapes are now outperforming prior harvests in both quality and quantity, and the results are being recognized.”

The New York International Wine Competition is an impartial competition where trade buyers form a blind judging panel to pronounce winners based on their knowledge of what the consumer wants and what will sell. At the 2019 wine competition held in New York City, judges were buyers for top liquor stores, restaurants, and hotels from around the world.

Priam Vineyards is on the Connecticut Wine Trail at 11 Shailor Hill Road off Route 149 in Colchester. It is the first winery in New England to be certified by BevVeg International for meeting the strictest standards of vegan compliance in production practices from soil to bottle. The vineyard has been declared a nature conservation area by the World Wildlife Federation, and is a popular site for weddings, corporate events, and is a yearround getaway for wine tastings, concerts, family outings, and picnics. For more information visit www.priamvineyards.com.