Two Delaware County wineries placed well in the fourth annual PA Sommellier Judgement with the 2016 Merlot Reserve from Penns Woods Winery in Chadds Ford named the best red, writes Paul Vigna for pennlive.com.

The two rounds of blind tasting of more than 100 entries took place Oct. 26.

Nearly 24 sommeliers mostly from the Philadelphia area judged two rounds of blind tastings and sampled more than 100 entries.

Round one focused on appearance, bouquet, taste and finish. The top-scoring wines moved to round two, judged on a 1 to 10 scale for overall impression.

The event was organized by Scott Zoccolillo, wine director for Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in Center City Philadelphia.

He started the friendly competition after Anthony Vetri at Va La Vineyards in Chester County gave him a bottle of his rosato for a wedding gift. Zoccolillo realized then that a lot of good wine was being produced in Pennsylvania.

Penns Woods Winery was a finalist for its 2016 Merlot Reserve and its 2019 Chardonnay Reserve.

Chaddsford Winery, also in Chadds Ford, received an honorable mention for its 2017 merlot.

Read more about these winning Delaware County wines at pennlive.com.

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