The first People's Choice Missouri Wine Competition separated the sweet from the sour, or more accurately, the sweet from the dry.
The 2013 Jefferson City Leadership Class hosted the event on May 21, with all proceeds going directly to the Boys and Girls Club of the Capital City and the Samaritan Center. Ticket sales and silent auction items brought in more than $7,500 to be split evenly between the local charities.
Organizer Tyler Beck said the event "went off without a hitch," and that the leadership team hopes to continue the event as an annual competition.
All in good fun, participants tasted wines from seven different wineries, grading them on a 50-point scale. The event named a gold, silver and bronze winner in each of the four categories. An overall winner was also named - with Canterbury Hill Winery & Restaurant Kings Choice 2012 taking the throne.
The red sweet/semi-sweet winners were:
• Gold - Les Bourgeois Vineyards Riverboat Red
• Silver - Twisted Vine Vineyard Recession Noir
• Bronze - Hermannhoff Winery Stagswood Non-vintage
The red dry/semi-dry winners were:
• Gold - Les Bourgeois Vineyards Fleur Du Vin
• Silver - St. James Winery Pioneer Red
• Bronze - Canterbury Hill Winery Excalibur 2012
The white sweet/semi-sweet winners were:
• Gold - Canterbury Hill Winery King's Choice 2012
• Silver - Hermannhoff Winery Vignoles 2011
• Bronze - White Mule Winery Semi Sweet White
The white dry/semi-dry winners were:
• Gold - Les Bourgeois Vineyards Vignoles/Labelle 2011
• Silver - Les Bourgeois Vineyards Vignoles/Labelle 2011
• Bronze - White Mule Winery Semi Dry White.