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EMILY PELTON WINS JUDGES CHOICE AWARD IN 2007 NATIONAL WOMEN’S WINE COMPETITION
Emily takes her place beside the best women wine makers in California as
the Overall Winner of the red, white, Sparkling and Dessert wine categories
in the Women Winemakers Challenge portion of the 2007 National Women’s
Wine Competition.
Other gold medal winners included Carol Shelton of Shelton Wines, Joy Andersen of Erath Vineyards, Eileen Crane of Domaine Carneros, Dorothy Schuler of Bodegas Paso Robles, Denise Shurtleff of Cambria Estate Winery and Domenica Totty of Beaulieu Vineyards.
The winning wine:
Veritas 2005 Kenmar, Traminette, Monticello AVA
Emily Pelton, Winemaker
The winning wine also won:
Sweepstakes Winner (Open) Competition
Dessert Wine
Gold Medal
Sweepstakes Winner Women’s Winemaker’s Challenge Competition
Dessert Wine
Gold Medal
Determined on a career in wine making Emily completed a Masters in Enology at Virginia Tech with Bruce Zoeklein. The winemaker at Veritas Winery (annual production of 10,000 cases per year) in Afton Virginia; Emily puts the quality of wine above everything constantly working on characterizing the terroir of the vineyard in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Veritas began operations in 1999 producing the first vintage in 2001 the year both her Grandparents died. Her grand - mother Marjorie rejoiced in sweet wine “so we decided to name our sweet wine after Kenneth and Marjorie calling it “Kenmar” in honor of their memory” Emily explained.
Traminette is a French- French hybrid of Gewurtztraminer and Joannes –Seyve (JS) 23-416 which originated from Cornell in the mid nineties. The grape is to all and intents and purposes a Gewurtztraminer that grows beautifully in Virginia. The wonderful aroma of roses in the Kenmar -is the ‘Gewurtz’ component from the Traminette. The wine was made using an Ice Wine- like process with cryo – extraction resulting in a 14.5 % alcohol and 8% residual sugar in the wine. The perfect balance of sugar and acid accentuate the panoply of honeyed tropical fruit, and crystallized citrus flavors that fill the mouth finishing in mellifluous harmony.