Vizcarra Vineyards wins national award

The U.S. National Wine Competition recognizes excellence in winemaking

Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine presented local winemaker Vizcarra Vineyards at Becker Farms with its prestigious Best Fruit and Best of Class for White Fruit Wines awards, as well as a gold medal, at the 2012 U.S. National Wine Competition in April.

The competition awards medals to wines produced in any of the 50 U.S. states. Each wine was judged on its own merits by qualified, experienced judges from the wine industry, wine journalism, wine trade and restaurants.

The winning entry was Vizcarra's spiced apple wine, one of its specialty fruit wines. Spiced apple is made of 100 percent home-grown apples right from the farm. This wine is churned with mulling spices and cinnamon to create a unique, delicate green apple flavor.

"This award comes as a very pleasant surprise! I never set out to win competitions; I just wanted to help my

my family. It is with their help that this was possible," said winemaker Andres Vizcarra. "From my father tending to orchards to ensure the best quality of fruits, to my mother teaching me everything she knows about wine, not to mention the great employees that have helped me throughout the year. This victory is for all of us."

About Vizcarra Vineyards

Vizcarra Vineyards is part of Becker Farms, a fifth generation, family-owned 340-acre working fruit and vegetable farm that sells its products directly to the public. For the past 100 years, Becker Farms has harvested its own fruits and vegetables to provide fresh produce and a wide variety of value-added products, such as handmade pies, jams, cookies, cider, fudge and wines. The farm's goal is to provide families with the opportunity to visit the countryside and embrace Mother Nature among family and friends.