Winners have been announced for the contest events at the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, held annually in June.
There were contests for growing rhubarb, flower arranging, jam-making, pie baking and wine-making. The events were sponsored by the GEP Dodge Library to support its building fund.
The blue ribbon entry for pie-baking went to David McKenzie of Bennington. Katie Silva of Wilton, entering for the first time, received the red ribbon for second place. Linda Osienski from Bennington won the third-place yellow ribbon. The contest was sponsored by the King Arthur Baking Company, which supplied the prize ribbons and gift cards for their products. Laurie MacKeigan took top honors in the separate contest for professional bakers.
Silva won the first and third prizes for having grown the longest rhubarb stalk, followed closely by John Thler in second place. The prize for the widest rhubarb leaf was won by Yvette Brinkley, followed by Arnie Cernota and Silva. For turning rhubarb into jam or jelly, Molly Flower Eppig of Bennington won the first-place ribbon, while Marian Baker of Hillsboro came in second.
Although rhubarb flowers are usually cut off to prolong the harvesting season, the cut flowers can be made into a bouquet. The top prize for rhubarb flower-arranging went to Beth Simmons of Hancock, and Silva won the second and third prizes. Silva also took first place for her spring flower arragement.
While wine is made from grapes, country wines are made from other fruits. One country wine is made from Rhubarb, a tradition that goes back to the 1700s in the United States. To celebrate that heritage, the festival sponsors the New England Rhubarb Wine Competition in June. This year, professional and amateur wine-makers entered from Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. After a blind tasting, the judges were unanimous in their opinions. Based on the wine’s appearance, aroma, taste, and finish, the gold medal was awarded to Putney Mountain Winery’s Rhubarb Blush. Eighteen-Twenty’s Fête won the silver medal, and the bronze medal went to Zorvino Winery’s Strawberry Rhubarb.
Putney Mountain Winery, located in Putney, Vt., is owned and operated by Charles and Kate Dodge. Their wine recieved full points for taste, earning comments about the fruity, floral aromas and similarity to “an Alsatian Gewertztraminer.” Putney Mountain Winery is the first contestant to win the gold medal three years in a row.
Eighteen-Twenty Wines is owned and operated by Amanda Denniston in Portland, Maine. Since 2015, the winery has worked “to bring a truly unique, locally-sourced wine to market – made not from grapes, but from Maine-grown rhubarb.” Eighteen-Twenty had previously won a bronze medal in 2019.
Zorvino Vineyards, in Sandown, was founded in 2000 by Jim and Cheryl Zanello, and their daughter Amy now heads the operation. Alone among the wineries that entered, Zorvino also produces grape wines, and their strawberry rhubarb entry was a limited run. This was a first-time entry for Zorvino.
The Bennington Rhubarb Festival will return next year on the first Saturday in June.