Deep Underground in the brick-lined wine caves of South River Vineyard, the first Ice Wine Festival Queen was crowned this Saturday during the 8th annual Grand River Ice Wine Festival. The Festival began 8 years ago and was founded by South River and 4 other wineries in the Grand Rive Valley . Each March since then, customers take a progressive tour of the areas Ice Wineries and sample the latest vintage. Just as many festivals in Ohio have a “Queen”, South River Owners Gene & Heather Sigel felt the Festival had grown large enough to earn its own “Ice Wine Royalty.”
The festival Queen was to be 21 years old or over and compete based on written essays describing their interest in local wines, personality, and ability to promote Ohio grown wines. The Ice Wine Queen, Stephy Gorgeny of Grafton Ohio, is a self-described Locavore and wrote in her Competition essay that “I like most supporting my local region’s viticulture, people, and economy. The products produced here in northern Ohio are of award-winning quality….Locavores seek to consume foods produced within a 100-200 mile radius of their location.” Her runner up, Amanda Wight is a native of Ashtabula, and wrote that “The beautiful vineyards that surround the local area…and the people who work at each winery display a great love and pride” for the Grand River Valley. Second Runner up, Sara Galbraith of Erie P.A, wrote that “Wineries in the Grand River Valley have beautiful venues embracing the beauty of the vineyards.”
Ice Wine by law is produced by allowing the select grapes to freeze naturally on the vine, producing a sweet, dessert-style concentrated wine that can only be produced in areas with cold winters.
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