Going for Gold: Alder Creek Distillery Wins Best in Class for Nashi Pear Brandy
Alder Creek Distillery has won Best in Class in the Brandy category at the Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition with their Nashi Pear Brandy. Idol Ridge Winery was also awarded two Double Gold medals for their 2019 Reserve Riesling Smith Brothers Farm and 2020 String of Pearls Sparkling Riesling. Their 2020 Gruner Veltliner also brought home a Gold medal.
This year, the competition held its 23rd annual competition to benefit Camp Good Days & Special Times. As stated on their website, “The Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition (FLIWC) is one of the largest charity-run wine and spirits competitions in the world.” They accept wine, spirit, and cider entries from 16 different countries with an average of 2,500 entries per year.
For 14 years, Montezuma Winery and Idol Ridge Winery have entered their wines into the competition to help support Camp Good Days & Special Times. This year, they also entered spirits from their distilleries; Hidden Marsh Distillery (located in Montezuma Winery) and Alder Creek Distillery (located in Idol Ridge Winery). Both their wines and spirits brought home medals in this year's competition.
“Winning awards is always special for our team, but winning awards at the FLIWC is even more exciting,” said Head Winemaker, Phil Plummer. “Competitions like the FLIWC are excellent opportunities for us to have our products evaluated by world-class judges, and doing as well as we have this year lets us know we're on the right track. As nice as winning awards is, knowing that our participation benefits Camp Good Days is even better.”
Montezuma Winery was awarded a Gold medal for their 2022 Sparkling Diamond Pet-Nat and their John Shaw Bourbon Whiskey from Hidden Marsh Distillery received a Silver medal.
Head Winemaker, Plummer, and owners, the Martin family, are proud to continue supporting the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. They invite you to visit Idol Ridge Winery & Alder Creek Distillery on Seneca Lake and Montezuma Winery & Hidden Marsh Distillery on Cayuga Lake to try their newly awarded wines and spirits. All of their wines can also be shipped nationally through their website.
