By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281Source(s):
Dennis Gray DJG@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (407) 884-2034 ext. 126
Jeanne Burgess Winejb@aol.com, (352) 394-8627
CLERMONT, Fla.—Florida’s homegrown wine industry has done it again.
For the third time in four years, Blanc du Bois, a dry, fruity wine made from a grape developed by the University of Florida, has won a double gold medal in international competition.
At the recent 14th annual Florida State Fair International Wine Competition in Tampa, the wine received a double gold medal award and was named Florida Best of Show White Wine. The 2002 awards follow similar honors in 2001.
Blanc du Bois earned its first double gold at the 1998 Indy International Wine Competition, the nation’s third largest. Out of 2,147 wines from 19 countries, the wine was one of the 40 best.
“At this year’s Florida State Fair Wine Competition, which is among the top 10 in the eastern United States, only 4 percent of the 882 wines entered received double gold awards,” said Jeanne Burgess, vice president of wine making operations at Seavin, Inc. The firm owns the Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards in Clermont, Fla. and the San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine.
“Needless to say, this puts our Blanc du Bois in a prestigious position,” she said. “It is internationally recognized as being among the world’s best wines.”
Dennis Gray, a professor developmental biology at UF’s Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka, said the success of Blanc du Bois in objective wine competition demonstrates that a high quality product can be produced from Florida grapes.
“The consistent performance of Blanc du Bois in top international wine competition is helping the Florida wine industry compete with leading wine producers from California and France,” Gray said. “It took more than 16 years to develop a superior grape that could tolerate Florida’s warm, humid climate, but the state now produces a world-class grape.”
Steve Alcorn, an Orlando businessman and wine connoisseur who has been judging wines since 1992, said the fact that Blanc du Bois continues to win gold medals year after year is a testament to the appeal of the grape, especially in the face of stiff competition from California.
Blanc Du Bois is made from a hybrid grape developed in 1968 by researchers with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences who were attempting to create grapes that would be good for both eating and wine production. The grape, which flourishes in the Florida environment, was released for production in 1987.
“This demonstrates the importance of long-term support of research in order to obtain such stunning results,” Gray said.
According to Burgess, the success of homegrown wines such as Blanc Du Bois creates a surge of interest among the wine-drinking public that may boost support for UF research efforts.
“Not only does this increased interest help our winery, but it also lends weight to the value of the UF research on grapes and related production practices such as disease control,” Burgess said. “Through biotechnology and genetic engineering, UF researchers are finding ways to breed and release grapes even quicker than they have in the past. We hope they will continue to develop and release grape varieties that are even better than the Blanc du Bois.”
She named the grape after Emile Dubois, a 19th century Frenchman who established an award-winning Florida vineyard and winery. Blanc du Bois immediately lived up to the Dubois legacy, she said.
John Mortensen, the UF geneticist, now retired, who developed the grape used in Blanc du Bois, said it looks like the wine is on it’s way to becoming a premium variety.
“Maybe we’ve finally arrived,” he said.
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