JOLO’s Golden Hallows Earns Coveted Platinum Medal and Three Gold Medals at 2019 International Winemaker Challenge

JOLO’s Golden Hallows Earns Coveted Platinum Medal and Three Gold Medals at 2019 International Winemaker Challenge

JOLO Winery & Vineyards’ 2018 Golden Hallows brought home a prestigious Platinum Medal and 3 Gold Medals earlier this week at the 2019 International Winemaker Challenge Wine Competition that took place in San Diego, California.

“Out of over 1,000 entries, fewer than five percent of the wines submitted worldwide earned a platinum medal,” noted JW Ray, Founder and Winemaker of JOLO Winery & Vineyards.”

“The hybrid grape varietals wildly planted in the eastern and midwestern United States may not be well known, but the wines they produce are increasingly well made. JOLO’s blend of Vidal Blanc and Traminette from JOLO offers bright citrus and tropical aromas, is well balanced, bone dry and long on the palate. Platinum Award Winner at the 2019 Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition.”

94 Points
Robert Whitley
January 22, 2019

JOLO also earned three Gold Medals as listed below:


 2017 Pilot Fog –  92 points
2018 JOLO Pink  – 91 points
2017 Crimson Creek – 90 points

The 10th annual Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition took place in San Diego, California, home of the “Challenge” series of wine & spirits competitions. Winemaker Challenge kicks off the series as the first major international wine competition of the year.

Judges evaluate wine entries in teams of three, awarding Silver medals for wines of distinction, Gold medals for wines of exceptional character, and Platinum medals for extraordinary wines that represent the very best in their class.

In a unique twist to this very unique wine competition, all wines awarded Platinum are tasted and evaluated independently by Wine Review Online columnists Robert Whitley (Winemaker Challenge founder and Executive Director) and Rich Cook (Winemaker Challenge Director) and reviewed at WRO in the weeks immediately following completion of the Challenge.

The 1002 wines entered were most in the nine years of Winemaker Challenge. From that total, only 45 wines earned a platinum award with a score of 94 points or higher. The 18 winemaker judges evaluated the wines in panels of three, with all the wines tasted “blind,” meaning the name of the producer and price of the wine were not revealed to the judges until after the results were declared official.

For more details about the winery, call (336) 614-0030.

Rated 1 of the top 7 wineries
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