Judgement of Kingston 2019

RESULTS FROM THIS YEAR'S JUDGEMENT OF KINGSTON PINOT NOIR WINE TASTING

After a lengthy deliberation, a distinguished panel of wine experts and critics - Tony Aspler, Melissa Pulvermacher, Jennifer Huether, Magdalena Kaiser and Michael Godel - selected Stanner’s Vineyard’s 2017 “The Narrow Rows” Pinot Noir as the Gold Medal winner of the 4th annual Judgement of Kingston wine event. Silver and Bronze spots were taken by two New Zealand pinots, Villa Maria (Marlborough) and Thornbury (Central Otago). Meanwhile, the voting public selected Thornbury, a New Zealand pinot noir, as their first choice, with Stanner’s taking second place and another New Zealand pinot, Greystone (Waipara Valley) coming in at third.

Commenting on the results, Professor Lubomyr Luciuk, one of the organizers of the Judgement of Kingston, said: “We are again seeing just how fantastic the wines from The County are. Against some very good New Zealand wines, our local winemakers have again done very well. That said, it’s also clear the public really enjoyed all of the New Zealand wines meaning everyone “won” at this blind wine-tasting event. Even better is how our silent auction raised over $6,000 for local and regional charities - Martha’s Table and the Christmas Hampers of Hope. We’re very grateful to all of the wineries and other donors who support our efforts and to our corporate sponsors. Next year the Judgement of Kingston will be on Saturday, 7 November, and we'll be featuring chardonnays from The County compared with some of the best from Niagara, another one of the great Ontario wine-growing regions.”

Kim Meathrel and Sandor Johnson announcing JoK 2019 Gold Winner. Photo taken by Stephen Wild Photography.

The JoK 2019 team and our judges (left to right): Bob Burkholder, Professor Lubomyr Luciuk, Melissa Pulvermacher, Cliff Stanner with the winning “The Narrow Roads” pinot noir, Michael Godel, Tony Aspler, Sandor Johnson (JoK MC), Jennifer Huether, Magdalena Kaiser, Dr Kim Meathrel and Mellisa Stunden Mercer (2 November 2019). Photo taken by Stephen Wild Photography.

Cliff Stanner holding a bottle of the Stanner’s Vineyard 2017 “The Narrow Rows” Pinot Noir. Photo taken by Stephen Wild Photography.

The Winner - Stanners Vineyard 2017 "The Narrow Rows" Pinot Noir. Photo taken by Stephen Wild Photography.

Donations

Lubomyr Luciuk passing a donation of $5,000 from JOK 2019 to Ronda Candy in support of Martha's Table - 22 November 2019 - over 1,500 people will be fed by this donation (photo courtesy of Ian MacAlpine, The Whig Standard).