Wineries win top honor for third year

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Mazza Vineyards from Northeast, Pa., and the Winery at Wilcox from Wilcox, Pa., were presented the Governor’s Cup for the ninth annual Pennsylvania Farm Show Wine Competition.
Both Mazza Vineyards and the Winery at Wilcox are receiving the Best of Show award for the third year in a row from among 23 wineries and 180 varieties.
Winery at Wilcox. The Winery at Wilcox won two gold medals for its Blueberry Mist and East Sunset, one silver medal for Elk Country White and two bronze medals for its Decadanz and Pinot Grigio wines.
The Blueberry Mist is a sweet and sparkling wine, made from exclusively Pennsylvania-grown blueberries.
Mazza Vineyards. The Mazza Vineyards won two gold medals for its Best of Show Cream Sherry and for its Ice Wine Vidal Blanc.
It won one silver medal for its Vidal Blanc and three bronze medals for its Wis. Riesling, Niagara and Premium Port wine.
Mazza’s winning Cream Sherry, a grape wine, is produced in the old-world style, incorporating the more traditional concord grapes and a newer red hybrid variety.
Histories. Robert Mazza and Jamie Williams are similar in both having a strong tradition and experience of wine running through their heritage.
Mazza’s father, Joseph Mazza, left Calabria, Italy, where he grew figs, chestnuts and grapes, to start a life in the United States.
Robert Mazza remembers leaving Italy with his family at age 5 and later settling in the Lake Erie Wine Region in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Williams also had an interesting story to tell about how his family started making wine.
“My father made 50 gallons of Pink Catawba for my sister’s wedding … everyone told him he should sell it and that’s how he became an entrepreneur,” Williams said.
Other winners. The other gold-winning wineries and their award winning wines include: Vyncrest for its Pinot Blanc wine; Nissley for its Apple wine; Hunters Valley for its Seyval Blanc wine; Kog Hill for its Cabernet Franc wine; Maiolatesi for its Cabernet Franc wine; and Manatawny Creek for its Cabernet Sauvignon.