Registration is open for the 9th annual International Cold Climate Wine Competition (ICCWC)! The competition will be held on August 18, 2017 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, MN and will be host to another year of Cold Climate Wine innovation and excellence. The Cold Climate Wine industry is continuing to grow and this competition has been instrumental in establishing a standard of quality. We cordially invite all Cold Climate commercial wineries to enter their wines into the competition. Remember, this is the only wine competition where the judges don't blink twice when you say Marquette, Frontenac, or La Crescent.

The average wine buyer isn't going to know from the outside what a wine actually tastes like.  Sometimes clever names or attractive labels are all it takes to sell some bottles of wine. Winemakers, however, would always rather have a great tasting wine rather than a good looking bottle.  So, in a blind tasting the judges never see the labels.  They simply taste the wine.  

At the International Cold Climate Wine Competition (ICCWC) the judges are internationally recognized experts in evaluating cold-climate wines.  They already know that award-winning wines are created from grape varieties that survive temperatures of -20º or lower.  This is your chance to have these independent judges evaluate wines you have made from cold-climate grapes.

A list of all accepted varieties and a full list of rules are available on the Minnesota Grape Growers Association (MGGA) registration website. All commercial wineries are invited to enter wines made up of a minimum of 75% cold-hardy varieties.

Wines are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals, and best of show awards to the top red, white, rosé, and specialty wines. The annual "Governor's Cup" is awarded to the judges’ favorite Minnesota wine. Finally, the "Winery of the Year" award will be presented to the winery with the best overall showing at the 2017 competition. Medal and award winners will be posted online, and many medal winners will have a chance to be featured during the 2018 Cold Climate Conference in March.

Online registration is open now. Reduced rate registration ends July 1, 2017. Final deadline for registration is August 7, 2017. To register, please visit www.mngrapes.org/iccwc. Wines must be postmarked or delivered in-person by 4:30pm CDT on August 7, 2017 to qualify.

The ICCWC is a partnership between the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and the University of Minnesota.