Longsword Vineyard Wins Silver Medal At 2011 Grand Harvest Awards

LongSword Vineyard 2009 Accolade Sparkling Chardonnay Wins Silver at
2011 Grand Harvest Awards held in Healdsburg, California
by Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine

LongSword Vineyard is proud to announce that its 2009 Accolade Sparkling Chardonnay was honored with a silver medal at the 2011 Grand Harvest Awards which was held March 1-2, 2011 at Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg, California. Established in 1990, it is the only wine-judging event in North America that is based on terroir - a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine. At the Grand Harvest Competition judges taste wines with other wines of the same appellation. Thus, with cross-regional competition removed, the inherent quality of wines can be seen without the influences that sometimes eclipse even a wine of very high quality.

Accolade Semi-Sparkling Chardonnay was originally slated as a one-time celebratory wine for the wedding of the owner's son. This fruit-driven Chardonnay smells of apples and pineapples, with a subtle touch of pear on the palate and a slight bit of residual sugar. It has a bit of a dry finish, not as overwhelming as Champagne, but still festive. A mouthful of fruit with a hint of sweetness and just enough effervescence to tickle your tongue, this sparkling wine pairs with spicy foods as well as wedding cake.

Longsword Vineyard merged with Fly High Vineyard in 2008. Winemaker and co-owner, Matt Sorenson, sources grapes from both vineyards to create the more than nine wine varietals on Fly High Vineyard/Longsword Vineyard's wine list.

LongSword Vineyard's crush of 2009 has yielded some of the best tasting Frizzante style Semi-Sparkling Chardonnay this valley has ever seen. Sorensen finds that whole cluster pressed and fermented cool in stainless steel helps craft a more balanced, fruit-forward wine. The wine label on LongSword Vineyard's Accolade depicts one of the vineyard's many sword illustrations, done by family member John Largaespada. All of LongSword's labels and wine names allude to sword fighting lingo, as the family name "Largaespada" translates into "Long Sword." www.fhlv.net