Ainoa Winery (formerly Finnviini) finds success in California again!

Ainoa (formerly Finnviini) wines have been awarded medals at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition, the largest wine competition in the US.  All four wines entered received medals.

  • Gold: Vaapukka raspberry dessert wine

  • Silver: Valokki cloudberry dessert wine

  • Bronze: Sametti bilberry dessert wine

  • Bronze: Kaamos Christmas spiced lingonberry and honey wine

Since February, 2016 when Ainoa (formerly Finnviini) entered its first competition, the company’s wines have earned 12 product quality medals and a trophy in 6 competition, 5 of them outside Finland.  In all of the international competitions, the majority of the wines competing were made from grapes, and Ainoa’s berry wines were judged to the same standards.  This confirms that berry wines have finally achieved the same high level of quality as traditional grape wines when they are made with top quality Finnish berries and sound winemaking techniques.  Along the way, Ainoa has continuously broken barriers. 

Ainoa’s previous awards

March 2017: Vinalies Internationales, Paris

  • Vaapukka wins a gold medal

  • Vappukka is awarded a trophy, one of only 8 given to the 3500+ competing products at one of the most prestigious wine competitions in the world. It is the first trophy Vinalies has ever given to a berry wine, and only the second trophy ever earned by a Finnish alcohol product at a major international competition.

March 2017: Berlin International Wine Competition, Germany

  • Sametti wins silver medal

  • Valokki wins silver medal

  • Ainoa (previously Finnviini) wines are the only non-grape wines to ever win medals at this competition

October 2016: Artesaaniruuan avoin SM-Kilpailu, Tammisaari, Finland

  • Valokki wins the bronze medal for dessert wine

  • Kaamos wins the bronze medal for innovative products

June 2016: Melbourne International Wine Competition, Australia

  • Sametti earns a silver medal, the only non-grape wine to ever win a medal in this competition

February 2016: International Eastern Wine Competition, Sonoma California

  • Sametti becomes the first Finnish wine to win a gold medal in an international competition

  • Valokki earns a silver medal

 

About the San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC)

The largest and most influential international wine competition in America, the SFIWC has been setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980. Now in its 37th year, the SFIWC maintains the highest level of integrity with a blind-tasting system performed by a highly experienced panel of internationally acclaimed wine experts.

A SFIWC medal has been established as a reliable indication of wine excellence, and wines recognized as medal-worthy by our judges are universally understood to be among the very best.

David Cohen