New Zealand Vineyard (photo by seriousfun, courtesy of morgueFile.com)

It was at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, when French judges were led into a blind tasting of top-quality chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines from France and California. At the time France was generally regarded as the maker of the world's best wines and many were astonished to learn that the French judges had rated California wines as the best in each category. The story was cleverly told in a fine film, Bottle Shock, in 2008.

Thus did American winemakers finally achieve recognition for their craftmanship after years of being dismissed as unworthy. Once it was established that good wines could be produced outside of Europe, California was joined by Australia, Chile, and Argentina and many others in the competition for the world’s palates. Wine lovers now sip happily from an international cornucopia of fine wines.

Competition Goes Global

Despite the wonderful abundance of good wines from around the world American Wines continue to hold their own among the world’s best. In February, 2,756 wines from 24 states and 17 countries competed in The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition. Winners of the 26th annual competition were announced this week with 1,254 wines awarded medals.

A group of 58 wine critics, distributors, importers, sommeliers, master sommeliers, and masters of wine formed the judging panels this year, awarding 156 gold, 421 silver, and 674 bronze medals.

California Leads Medal Winners

Traditionally producing more wine, the West Coast came through with the highest number of U.S. medals. California claimed the top spot bringing in 757. Next in line was Washington State with 111 followed by Oregon with 40. Other winning states include Texas with 22 medal-winners, New York at 20, and Virginia taking 14. Medals were also awarded to wines from Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Italy Tops International Winemakers

Internationally, Italy brought the most medals home at 46, Australia was next with 34, France received 31, New Zealand 26, Chile 22, Spain 21, Argentina 16, and 13 went to Germany. Other international winners include Austria, Canada, Hungary, Mexico, Portugal, Republic of Georgia, South Africa, and South Korea.

A complete listing of all the medal-winning wines can be found on a searchable database at: The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition Medal Winners

Get a Taste

The public will have the chance to sample many of these award-winning wines paired with tasty cuisine during the Dallas Wine and Food Festival, April 21-25. For more information on the Festival, go to: The Dallas Wine & Food Festival

To learn more about the fine film cited above, go to: Bottle Shock (DVD)

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For information related to the purchase of advertising space and editorial coverage on the American Feast web site call Jeff Deasy toll free at 877-332-7875 or email him at jdeasy@americanfeast.com