Mar 2, 2022

St. Julian Winery wins big at East Meets West Wine Challenge

It was a big year for St. Julian Winery at the annual East Meets West Wine Challenge, where the 2020 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate Riesling was awarded Best of Show, Best of Class and winner of the “Riesling Challenge” competition.

The 2020 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate Riesling also recently won Double Gold at the Tasters Guild Competition and at the Harvest Challenge, as well as receiving a Gold medal in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The fruit for this award-winning wine comes from the 22-acre Mountain Road Estate Vineyard in Coloma, Michigan, which was established in 2007. Seven vinifera varietals are grown for small, premium-batch offerings including Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Sangiovese. The fruit from this vineyard is used for estate-bottled Braganini Reserve varietals as well as Winemaker Series blends. In 2021, 70 tons of premium fruit were harvested from this vineyard alone.

“Our Mountain Road Estate Vineyard consistently produces excellent fruit, and our winemaking team continues to prove their skill,” said Sarah Braganini, owner/manager of the vineyard. “We are honored to receive these awards celebrating this beautiful wine.”

Best of Class medals were also presented to St. Julian for the 2020 Winemaker Series Harvest Select Gewürztraminer/Riesling as well as Sweet Nancie, named after St. Julian’s Vice President of Winemaking Nancie Oxley. This sweet sparkling wine also recently received Best of Class, Best of Lake Michigan Shore AVA and Double Gold at the Harvest “Terroir” Challenge wine competition – the only competition to judge wines by American Viticultural Area, as well as earning Double Gold at the Indy International Wine Competition.

An additional seven medals (three Gold and four Silver) were presented to other wines in the St. Julian portfolio (see list below).

“To see our wines appreciated on a world stage is a huge honor,” said Oxley, St. Julian’s head winemaker. “All of these medals are testament to the time and effort our winemaking team puts into creating premium products, but the award we are most proud of is winning the Riesling Challenge. Our 2020 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate is another example of how we continue to innovate and improve our winemaking process, and I am so proud of our team, from grape to glass, for what we have accomplished with this wine.”

St. Julian’s 2022 medals included:

BEST OF SHOW & RIESLING CHALLENGE WINNER
2020 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate Riesling

BEST OF CLASS
2020 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate Riesling
2020 Winemaker Series Harvest Select Gewürztraminer/Riesling
Sweet Nancie

GOLD
2020 Braganini Reserve Lake Harvest Vignoles
2021 Braganini Reserve Mountain Road Estate Rose
2020 Braganini Reserve Traminette

SILVER
2017 Braganini Reserve Meritage
2020 Braganini Reserve Pinot Noir
2020 Winemaker Series Albariño/ Gewürztraminer
2018 Winemaker Series Double Barrel Merlot