(Stillwater, Okla. – June 14, 2017) Canadian River Vineyards and Winery in Slaughterville, Oklahoma, continues to bring home honors during international competitions for its wine made from Oklahoma-grown grapes.

The Made in Oklahoma company recently won silver medals in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the Indy International Wine Competition for its Ingels Vineyard Dry Riesling and Chardonnay, respectively, and a bronze medal at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition for its semi-sweet Sangiovese.

These competitions had more than 4,000 entries each from all over the world, said Gene Clifton, owner of Canadian River Vineyards and Winery.

“Canadian River Winery is proud that our wines made from Oklahoma grown grapes are doing so well in international competitions,” Clifton said.

The company won medals in every wine competition it entered in 2016 and is racking up honors in 2017.

“Canadian River’s vineyards are 17 years old and are consistently making good quality grapes, which are made into award winning wines,” Clifton said. “We grateful for all of our loyal customers, the Oklahoma wine retail stores and restaurants who buy our products.”

For the past seven years, Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center, a part of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, has undertaken an Oklahoma wine-quality project aimed at sensory and chemical testing of Oklahoma wines, especially those wines from Oklahoma-grown grapes. Under the direction of William McGlynn, FAPC horticultural products processing specialist, continuing work and education has helped reduce some of the vineyard and wine problems.

This project has allowed Oklahoma wineries to be competitive with wines produced all over the world.

This year, Canadian River Winery, along with Pecan Creek Winery of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Waddell Vineyards of Ada, Oklahoma, participated in the Wine Forum of Oklahoma on the OSU campus, which featured wineries from around the United States and top Oklahoma chefs through educational seminars, wine tasting, and food and wine pairings.

“Oklahoma vineyards and wineries were asked to submit their wines to FAPC for an opportunity to participate in the forum,” McGlynn said. “We highlighted three Oklahoma wineries that presented a selection of wines for tasting.”

Clifton said Oklahoma has a long history of grape growing and wine making, and the late 1800s boasted several large wineries in Oklahoma and Lincoln counties. Prohibition was introduced at statehood in 1907.

“Since 2000, when the voters of Oklahoma overwhelmingly passed State Question 688 allowing for rural winery tasting rooms like ours, there has been a resurgence of vineyards and wineries in the state,” he said. “We invite the public to come out to Canadian River Winery seven days a week from noon to 5 p.m.”

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 260,000 students who have been serving Oklahoma and the world for 125 years.