Local man is recognized for wine-making

When it comes to wine, the most common colors are red and white. For Russell Ohm of Libby, silver and gold are new colors he can add to his palette.

Ohm, who has been making wines at home since 2007, entered two of his wines into the 2012 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition held April 20-22 in Manchester, Vt. The results, a gold medal for his Australian Chardonnay and a silver for his Cabernet Franc Ice Wine were unexpected.

“I was pretty shocked,” Ohm said. “I make mine from kit-wines, and I was paired against fresh-grape wines. It just shows what quality types of wine you can make from a kit.”

The contest featured 50 categories of wine and had 4,318 total entries from all 50 states, eight Canadian provinces and seven countries. The judges took 1,511 total hours to judge 803 wine flights, according to the press release. The judges used the UC Davis 20-point wine scale to judge every wine on it’s appearance, aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall impression.

When the deliberations had ended, the judges sent Ohm the two medals. Not for his neck, but for his wine bottles’. When asked what his secret was, Ohm wasn’t shy.

“Follow directions,” he said. “They stress sanitizing everything and making sure it is all clean.”

Ohm said that by buying top quality kits, he has never made a bad wine. 

“You’ve just got to stick with the things you enjoy,” he said.