Strathmore winery wins golds and Best in Class

Three gold medals have been awarded to Field Stone Fruit Wines of Strathmore, Alberta, and Alberta Beverage Awards chooses Field Stone for Best In Class.
 
                              
STRATHMORE, ALBERTA (August 2017)
Alberta-based fruit winery Field Stone Fruit Wines is celebrating several new medals and distinctions that were awarded at three prestigious competitions recently:  The National Wine Awards of Canada based out of Ontario, The Northwest Wine Summit, held in Hood River, Oregon and Calgary’s own The Alberta Beverage Awards.
 
Boasting the largest competition its 17-year history, this year the National Wine Awards of Canada awarded a Gold Medal for Field Stone’s Black Currant Fruit Wine.  The competition saw 1700 wines from 242 wineries across Canada.
 
And at The North West Wine Summit in Port Hood, Oregon, where 1279 entries were judged from 340 producers – Field Stone received its best showing ever. The awards included:
 
Bronze Medal: Strawberry Dessert Wine
Silver Medals: Bumbleberry Fruit Wine, Raspberry Fruit Wine and Raspberry Dessert Wine.
Gold Medals: Black Currant Fruit Wine and Saskatoon Berry Dessert Wine.
 
Field Stone also received three additional recognitions from the Summit:
– “The Superlative Award” for best of region for its Black Currant Fruit Wine;
– a coveted “Best Value Award” for its Black Currant Fruit Wine; and
_”Best of Category” awards for both the Black Currant Fruit Wine and Saskatoon Berry Dessert Wine.
 
And finally, right here in Alberta, the Alberta Beverage Awards competition has awarded Field Stone the “Best In Class” distinction (Best Fruit Wine in the competition), for its Raspberry Fruit Wine.   In addition, their Black Currant Fruit Wine, Wild Black Cherry Dessert Wine and Strawberry Dessert Wine were awarded the Judge’s Selection as a top performer in the Fruit Wine and Fortified/Dessert Wine categories.
 
”It’s always very rewarding to win awards from the competitions we enter,” says Field Stone co-founder Elaine Gill. “But this year the competitions were larger than ever, and so it’s extra-special to be among the winners.”
 
Although Elaine and Marvin Gill’s Bumbleberry Orchards outside Strathmore has seen some battles with Mother Nature over the years, they are still growing 75% of all the fruit that goes into the wines themselves.
 
”Fruit growing in Alberta is always a challenge, but this past year we felt that our quality fruit made for some very high quality wines,” says Marvin.
 
In 2005 Field Stone Fruit Wines was the first business to be granted a license under the Government of Alberta’s new estate winery regulations, allowing fruit growers to manufacture and sell fruit wines. Since then, they have gone on to win more than eighty  awards across all 10 of its fruit and dessert wines and have grown from farm-gate sales, to farmers markets, to now being available in over 100 retail stores across Alberta.
 
”More and more Albertans are trying non-grape wines for the first time,” explains Elaine.  They are often surprised at how much they enjoy them.”
 
”People are interested in how to use our wines,” adds Marvin. “Our off-dry and medium-dry wines are easy to pair with everyday meals, but our dessert wines can be used in so many great ways – cocktails, lemonades, martinis. You just have to use your imagination.”
 
This season Field Stone has taken to social media and farmers markets to talk to customers about fruit wine, how to drink them, and how to mix them up into some great recipes.
 
”Our customers are always so encouraging,” says Elaine. “Especially at the winery and farmers markets, people love to support local, 100% Alberta, agribusiness. They enjoy hearing our story and the support really is amazing.”
 
For more information about Field Stone’s wines and where to buy them, including direct from its website, visit: www.fieldstonefruitwines.com/find-us