DOBSON, N.C. – Surry Cellars, the label for student-produced wine at Surry Community College through its Viticulture and Enology Program, took away the Best Rosé award at the 2024 North Carolina Fine Wines Competition with the Blue Ridge Rosé 2023. The N.C. Fine Wines Competition is recognized by the industry as one of the toughest competitions in the United States. All judges are level three advanced sommeliers and perform blind taste tests with no discussion among the judges during tasting.
The award-winning Surry Cellars Blue Ridge Rosé was produced by students along with guidance of their instructors, entirely in the vineyard and in the on-campus winery of Surry Community College at the Shelton-Badgett N.C. Center for Viticulture and Enology. This wine was made from the Chambourcin grapes, a French-American hybrid grape usually known for its dark red color and earthy aromatics and undertones – everything this wine is not.
To develop a fruity award-winning rosé, Surry Cellars students and faculty performed carbonic maceration on the grapes, a technique used to create more fruit-driven and candy-like aromatic compounds that drive a consumer’s perception of the wine. The wine was finished slightly sweet with vibrant, lemonade-like acidity and a berry finish.
SCC Enology Instructor David Bower said, “This wine is an achievement because we set out at the beginning of the semester to accomplish a phenomal rosé, and this affirms that we did just that.”
The Chambourcin grapes were managed and harvested specificially for making a rosé style wine with carbonic maceration. Students carefuly harvested each cluster and gently placed them into small bins that hold about 25 pounds of grapes.
“For carbonic maceration it’s very important that the berries remained intact and are not crushed,” SCC Viticulture Instructor Sarah Bowman explained, “and that was possible with the trellis system that our Chambourcin vines are trained on.”
“It was exciting to be able to utilize a winemaking technique that I studied and to win an award with it,” said Jason Bartoe, recent SCC graduate from the Viticulure & Enology program.
The students in the Grape Harvest class picked the Chambourcin grapes from the Watson trellis system early one morning in mid September.
“The Watson trellis system helps to suspend the clusters so they can be delicately harvested. It also keeps the clusters protected from extreme sun and heat which aids in developing grapes that are perfect for rosé wine,” Bowman said.
Robert O’Brien, current SCC Viticulture & Enology student, said, “I had the pleasure of being involved with almost every part of our Blue Ridge Rosé's production and am thrilled that our hard work has been recognized.”
Both instructors were quick to point out how instrumental the viticulture and enology students, who worked on this wine were, from the field to the bottle. Bowman commented, “Winning this award was a real confidence builder for the students. They saw they could produce a top tier wine for the state.”
Bower noted how the students, as well as a product like the Blue Ridge Rosé, benefitted the whole North Carolina wine industry by saying, “This award is a combination of everything we have been working on as a team. The students’ hard work was rewarded. They can say they had a hand in this and apply it to their careers. The award also helps the entire industry grow and fights the stigma that N.C. wines are not as good as wines from other states.”
“Getting to work on the Blue Ridge Rosé and our other wines over the last year has been a spectacular experience, and I'm incredibly grateful that it was recognized for its quality,” said O’Brien.
Judges for the competition look at the varietal typicity (what the variety tastes like) and the regional typicity (what the region has to offer) using the Wine Spectator Top 100 point system, a scale based on criteria set forth by Wine Spectator, which is an organization internationally known as a leading authority on wine. The higher the score, the better the wine.
Surry Community College is the only college east of California that can instruct students with hands-on experience in winemaking, from growing and harvesting the fruit, to processing it in a bonded winery, and then taking it through the bottling line. Even the label for the wine was created from student artwork.
Bartoe said, “Being part of such a great team of students in the vineyard and winery along with superior instruction and guidance from Sarah Bowman and David Bower has been a wonderful experience these last couple years.”
“Students get so much experience here,” said Bower, “especially on training methods, equipment, and learning about the variety and species of grapes grown. Ninety percent of the wine made in the United States is grown in California, but learning the process here is affordable and accessible.”
Bowman added, “Surry Community is a great place to learn this industry. If you can succeed in growing grapes and making wine in a challenging area like the Yadkin Valley, you can apply it elsewhere.”
Bower also added, “Our program has consistently, and being consistent is key, won awards, and we have consistently grown and adapted. Now, our program has been awarded Best Rosé, Best Red, Best White, Best Hybrid, Best Sparkling, and Best Dessert from the N.C. Fine Wines Competition.”
“Without our students, this wouldn’t happen,” said Bowman. “The SCC wine is student grown and student made. Instructors are here to guide them.”
Bower finalized by saying, “Anyone of any level can take classes in SCC’s Viticulture and Enology Program. We want people to take our classes.” Surry Community College offers a degree, diploma, and certificate options in viticulture, enology, tasting room operations, and wine marketing. The Shelton-Badgett N.C. Center for Viticulture and Enology at SCC, which opened in 2009, contains classrooms, a climate-controlled wine cellar, microbiology labs, an assembly hall, and a 2,500 gallon licensed and bonded teaching winery. The five-acre teaching and demonstration vineyard provides students with hands-on experience and exposure to a wide range of wine grape production techniques.
The center has recently expanded to include the 5,000 square-foot Sustainable Agriculture Building with classroom space, a farm equipment workshop, and a controlled environment crop production space. A new Agrichemical Building is used for safe and responsible pesticide storage and handling. The program incorporates sustainable practices wherever possible. All bottles are made from recycled glass and weigh 35 percent less than regular wine bottles. Additionally, the bottles are not finished with a polythermal or plastic cover, making them more environmentally friendly.
If you’d like to learn more about SCC’s Viticulture and Enology Program, visit surry.edu/wine, ncviticulturecenter.surry.edu or email Sarah Bowman, Viticulture Instructor, at bowmanse@surry.edu or David Bower, Enology Instructor, at bowerd@surry.edu. You may also contact Jeff Jones, Division Chair of Sciences, at jonesjr@surry.edu or (336) 386-3391
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