Local Winery is Ice Cider Winery of the Year; Scores Coveted ‘95’ Rating
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (November 18, 2020) — Meadowdale Farm Winery’s Ice Cider has been awarded a Gold Medal in the recently completed 2020 New York International Wine Competition.
The winery is located at Black Creek Farm on Fryer Lane in Altamont, NY. The New York International Wine Competition also named Meadowdale Winery the “New York Ice Cider Winery of the Year” for 2020.
“We were thrilled when we heard the news,” said Bernard Melewski, owner of Black Creek Farm in Altamont, where Meadowdale Winery is located. “We have only been licensed since 2016, but our commitment to quality speaks for itself.
“Our customers love our Ice Cider and it is definitely our most popular product,” Melewski said. “But a rating of ‘95’ by the judges is a stunning success for our winery and winemaker. A rating that high means they consider our Ice Cider to be at the top of the ‘superior to exceptional’ scale.”
Beverage Testing Inst 100-Point Rating System:
· 96-100 — Superlative
· 90-95 — Exceptional
· 85-89 — Highly Recommended
· 80-84 — Recommended
· <79 — Not Recommended
The 2020 NY International Wine Competition featured more than 1,400 wines from 24 nations, judged in 50 separate categories. Judges were a mix of restauranteurs, sommeliers, retail wine buyers, distributors and importers. The number of wines entered in each category has no impact on medal chances or ratings. Thus, not every category saw a gold or double gold medal awarded.
Meadowdale Ice Cider is similar to late-harvest or ice wines, Melewski said. Instead of grapes, it is made with a special blend of local apples. It has a bold apple flavor and aroma and deep, golden color. It starts out sweet, but the sweetness evaporates from the tongue as you swallow, he explained. It can be served with dessert, with sharp cheese or on its own.
“Wow! We are deeply honored by the judges’ accolades,” said Meadowdale winemaker John F. Sheehan. “We knew we’d be up against serious, international competition. To win gold competing against the world’s best wine makers is a thrill. To be rated as a ‘95’ by that panel of judges is something we could not have hoped for. We look forward to raising a glass with our closest friends and family to celebrate a job well done this holiday season.”
Sheehan wasn’t done thanking the judges.
“We humbly thank the NYIWC judges for rating our White Blossom dry white wine a ‘90’ on the Beverage Institute scale,” Sheehan said. “As a small, local winery we pride ourselves on making carefully handcrafted wines in an ecologically sensitive way. Getting a rating above “highly recommended” for a $10 white wine is a total blast. It makes us feel great to be recognized for bringing world-class quality to the Capital District at very affordable prices.”
Meadowdale Winery produces award-winning wines with solar and geothermal energy. Meadowdale’s massive, roomy tasting parlor and outdoor seating courtyard are located in a restored 1730 Dutch barn, overlooking the cliffs and waterfalls of John Boyd Thacher State Park (32 Fryer Lane, Altamont, NY 12009; open mid-May through October).
Meadowdale Winery makes nine wines ranging from dry to sweet, with something for every taste, Sheehan said.
Meadowdale Winery is a producer member of the Capital Craft Beverage Trail and the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. Black Creek Farm is a Farmer’s Pledge Farm managed under the guidelines of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA).
Meadowdale Winery was awarded Ice Cider Producer of the Year in 2018, when its Ice Cider won its first gold medal in the 2018 NYIWC.
More information:
John Sheehan
[email protected]
Bernard Melewski
[email protected]
518-861-3610
