In the commercial competition, J.A. Balistreri Vineyards of Denver won the gold medal for the red wine category and claimed the ""Best of the Fest"" designation with their 2000 Merlot from Grand Valley fruit. Runner-up for ""Best of the Fest"" was Canyon Wind 1999 Chardonnay, also from the Grand Valley, which took the gold medal in the white wine category.

The silver medal in the red wine category went to Two Rivers 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon and the bronze to Corley Vineyards 2000 Lorinda's Merlot. Both wineries are located in the Grand Valley AVA.

The Carlson 2001 Gewurztraminer (Grand Valley) took the silver medal in among the white, followed by Corley's 2000 Chardonnay. Canyon Wind claimed a gold medal for their Desert Rose and Garfield Estates, a brand new winery in the Grand Valley, took the silver for their dry Merlot Rose.

Fruit wine medals went to Augustina's Cherry (gold), a very tart, refreshing wine made in Boulder, and to Steamboat Springs Cellars' Strawberry Park (silver).

Plum Creek Vineyards, one of the state's oldest wineries located in Palisade, tallied the highest overall scores for a winery across averaged all three of their entries, 2000 Cabernet Franc, 2001 Riesling and 1997 Redstone Reserve Merlot. Corley Vineyards and Canyon Wind were close behind in the cumulative scores.

The most impressive showing for one of the many new wineries debuting their products at the 2002 Festival in the Park in Palisade came from Reeder Mesa Vineyards in Whitewater, just south of the Grand Valley, for their strong entries of Riesling and Merlot.

The amateur winemaking competition Best of Show and gold medal for the white wine category went to longtime amateur winemaker and grape-grower Rusty Price of Palisade for his stunning, Chablis-like Chardonnay. Rusty was the founder and organizer of the amateur winemaking competition at Wine Fest several years ago, who retired from that role so he could enter the competition.

The biggest surprise of the competition was the dessert-styled Canadice, a hybrid grape variety from the Finger Lakes area of Canada and New York, made by Robert Schadek of Arvada. The fragrance and balance of this sweet white was remarkable and claimed the silver medal for whites and the Runner-up Best of Show award.

The bronze medal in the white category went to Patrick Chirchillio of Avon for a very distinctive Muscat Blanc. Mr. Chirchillio also claimed the silver and bronze medals in the red wine category for Chateauneuf- and Bordeaux-styled blends. He claimed the most medals of any entrant in either the amateur or commercial competition.

The gold medal red came from Chris Owens of Boulder, who blended Colorado Cabernet Franc with a touch of California Zinfandel for a deep and impressive wine.

Fruit wine medals went to Michael Maiella of Grand Junction for a luscious plum wine. Bill and Nancy Brooks of Arvada took the silver medal for their brilliant and refreshing raspberry wine. Marcel Theberge of Grand Junction claimed the bronze medal for fruit wines.

Overall, 37 amateur winemakers from all over Colorado and Utah turned in 87 entries into the amateur competition. Twenty-three of the 27 Colorado wineries that participated in the 2002 Colorado Mountain Wine Fest entered the commercial competition with 64 different wines.