FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Muscadines again rose to the top in the Arkansas Quality Wine competition, a testament to the skills of state’s vintners handling this beloved and somewhat quirky and cantankerous grape.
Renee Threlfall, associate professor-enology and viticulture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, founded the Arkansas Quality Wine, or AQW, Program to help the state’s winemakers improve their product and marketing. Threlfall works for the division’s research arm, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
“This is the second year in a row a muscadine wine has earned Best of Show,” she said. “This demonstrates our Arkansas commercial winemakers skills with this cultivar of grape, which is actually a more difficult grape than vinifer-type grapes to produce into a great, quality wine because of the delicate and unique aromas and flavors.”
In each AQW competition the wines are judged individually in a blind tasting. Based on their merit and quality for the category, the judges will award gold, silver, or bronze medals. Then, all the gold medal wines in each category are presented again to the judges for the coveted Best of Show.
New to the contest, which was held Aug. 8 in Fayetteville at the food science department, was a fruit wine category.
“The fruit wine category was added this year to expand the options for the commercial winemakers but also open opportunities for local growers of fruit other than grapes,” she said.
Arkansas consumers interested in tasting the winning wines of the AQW contest, will have their chance, Threlfall said.
“Each year after the competition, we feature some of the gold medal winning wines at public wine tasting and sensory events throughout Arkansas,” she said. “We love to show wine consumers what Arkansas has in this highly competitive market.”
The AQW competition saw five wineries enter 24 wines, with judges awarding 12 gold, six silver and five bronze medals. To qualify for AQW recognition, wines must contain at least 90 percent Arkansas-grown fruit, however, other wines can be entered.
The judges evaluated sensory attributes such as color, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel. Wines made with at least 90 percent Arkansas-grown grapes will also undergo further analysis, to evaluate characteristics such as alcohol, volatile acidity and sulfur dioxide levels. If the wines pass analysis and have earned double gold, gold or silver medals in the wine competition, they will be awarded the Arkansas Quality Wine seal.
The next competition will be May 2025. Judges for this year’s competition were Justin Scheiner, associate professor and extension viticulture at Texas A&M University; Michael Cook, viticulture program specialist for North Texas with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service; and Lorri Hambuchen, owner of the Wine Center in Little Rock.
About those muscadines
Threlfall says muscadines — Vitis rotundifolia — are grown throughout the southeastern United States. Wine is more commonly made with Vitis vinifera grapes.
“These grape plants are disease-resistant and produce grape used in fresh markets and processing for wine, juice, and jellies,” she said. “Because muscadines are one of the most widely planted grapes in Arkansas, the Division of Agriculture continues to research potential to aid the industry.”
Amanda Fleming, a food science graduate student working with Threlfall, is investigating techniques to improve wine production through co-fermentation of muscadine grapes with Vinifera grapes — Merlot. Walker Bartz, another food science graduate student, evaluated coatings to expand the postharvest shelf life of fresh-market muscadine grapes. These students are also instrumental in organizing and implementing the AQW competition.
Contest results
Best wines
- Best of Show — Post Winery White Muscadine
- Best White Wine — Post Winery White Muscadine
- Best Blush/Rose — Post Winery Blush Niagara
- Best Red Wine — Post Winery Solar Eclipse
- Best Sparking Wine — Post Winery Blue Parachute
- Best Specialty Wine — Post Winery ZarzaMora (with blackberry juice)
- Best Fruit Wine from Natural Fruit — Mount Bethel Wild Plum Wine
Medal-winning wines by winery:
Bluebird Ranch Winery, Clinton
- Blueberry/blackberry Wine, gold medal
Keels Creek Winery, Eureka Springs
- Giocoso, silver medal
- Aria Reserve, bronze medal
Mount Bethel Winery, Altus
- Elderberry Wine, gold medal
- Wild Plum Wine, gold medal
- Red Muscadine, silver medal
- Blush Muscadine, silver medal
Post Winery, Inc., Altus
- Blue Parachute, gold medal
- Blush Niagara, gold medal
- Ives, gold medal
- Pink Muscadine, gold medal
- Red Muscadine, gold medal
- Solar Eclipse, gold medal
- White Muscadine, gold medal
- ZarzaMora Blackberry, gold medal
- Reserve X Enchantment, silver medal
Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, Altus
- Weinfest Wine, gold medal
- Beau Noir, silver medal
- Muscato di Santa Maria, silver medal
- Cynthiana, bronze medal
- Pink Catawba, bronze medal
- Strawberry Alpine, bronze medal
- White Muscadine, bronze medal
To learn more about the Arkansas Quality Wine program visit www.facebook.com/arkansasqualitywine or the Arkansas Association of Grape Growers www.argrapegrowers.org.
To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.
