BELLE FOURCHE -
Winners in the second Black Hills Wine Country winemaking
competition were announced Thursday.
Best of show was
Joe Anglin of Spearfish.
Winner of the
"people's choice" award at the wine tasting and awards ceremony was
David Schubauer of Black Hawk, who also won second in "best of
show" competition.
The second annual
Black Hills Grape and Berry Growers Association contest ended with
a wine tasting at Bowman Hall with top winners from throughout the
northeast area of the Hills, and entries from as far south and west
as Newcastle, Wyo.
The association is
working to develop the same type of cultivation area found in
California's wine country.
According to the
association's organizer, John Jackson - a grape grower and
community-development leader - the Black Hills have the right
climate and the right soils, and there are wineries looking for
high-quality grapes.
The new growers
association has the problem that it takes three or four years for
grapevines to reach maturity for commercial yields, but promotion
of the project is the reason behind the regional winemaking
competition.
Jackson is
developing commercial-size vineyards near Belle Fourche. He said he
is convinced there is a significant future for the
crop.
Interest in wine
grapes and berries is obvious in the contest entry
list.
Nearly 50 contest
entries were judged. According to Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce
executive Teresa Schanzenbach, judges said the quality was up this
year.
Other award winners
were:
Third place, best
of show: David Wickstrom, Spearfish
Fruit and Berry
Blends: David Schubauer, Black Hawk, cranberry
Fruit and Berry
Blends: Kellie Huisenga, Sturgis, chokecherry
Fruit and Berry
Blends: David Wickstrom, plum
Novelty/Specialty
Wine: Ginger Doyen, Spearfish, buffalo berry
Kit Wine: Dwight
Gubbrud, Belle Fourche
Mead Wine: Joe
Anglin, Spearfish
Red Grape Wine:
Robert & Bernice Weber, Whitewood
White Grape Wine:
Ginger Doyen, Spearfish
