Erik Miller, a native of Kokomo, Ind., and owner and winemaker of Kokomo Winery, was recently awarded four Double Gold medals, three Best of Class awards and a trophy award for Red Wine of the Year for his Sonoma County wines at the Indy International Wine Competition.

Double Gold medals were awarded to Kokomo Winery’s 2007 Mountainview Ranch Sangiovese, 2008 Timbercrest Vineyard Zinfandel, 2008 Pedroni Vineyard Cabernet Franc and 2008 Peter’s Vineyard Pinot Noir.  Best of Class was awarded to the Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, while the Cabernet Franc also won Red Wine of the Year.  

Upon learning of the eight awards, Miller said, “I’m incredibly grateful that Kokomo’s wines showed so well at a venue that includes entries from all over the world. It’s always been a thrill to share my passion for wine with the talented and dedicated team of people I work with. To have our efforts be recognized on such a grand scale makes this moment especially sweet.”

The INDY is the largest independent wine competition in the United States, the world's largest wine market. Nearly 3,000 entries from 15 countries and 40 U.S. states are “blind tasted” and evaluated by 52 judges. This year’s competition, held August 3-5, was hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, which also happens to be Miller’s alma mater.  

Miller’s first vintage was 600 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2004.  Seven years later, Kokomo Winery, although still considered boutique by industry standards, produces 6,000 cases of wine split between 10 to 12 different varietals.  All of Miller’s wines are produced from grapes grown in Sonoma County, long regarded as one of the premier wine-growing regions in the world.