2016 Austin County Fair Non-Commercial Wine Show

The 2016 Austin County Fair Non-Commercial Wine Show took place on October 15 at the Austin County Fairgrounds in Bellville, Texas. The Austin County Fair is one of only a few county fairs in the State that has a wine competition and the Austin County Grape Growers Committee coordinates the competition.

As the name says, this is a wine competition for non-commercial wines. Any non-commercial or amateur winemaker could submit entries in the show. I have judged the competition a few times before and it is always interesting seeing the quality of home winemaker’s wines improve over the years as some of them may be preparing to take the next step to becoming a winemaker at a commercial winery.

Wine Classifications were: Red Wine – Dry, Red Wine – Sweet, White Wine – Dry, White Wine – Sweet, Fruit/Berry, Dessert/Port Style, Kit Wine/Non-TX Grapes, Native/Mustang Grape, and Blush.

First, second, and third places were awarded in each classification with Best of Show and Runner-Up also awarded. After the awards were announced, both entrants and the public was invited to a tasting of the wines.

This year 10 judges judged 35 wines, and we look forward to judging even more wines next year. There is no entry fee for the competition and the number of samples is unlimited, so the committee will be looking forward to your entries next year. Keep watching the website www.austincountyfair.com for more information next year.