Members of the local group of amateur winemakers led the wine portion of the 2025 Fermentation Frenzy beer and wine competition at the Butler County Fair.
The first, second and third place wins in the 2025 Wine Frenzy Competition garnered by the club’s members recognize the vibrant, historical wine culture in the Butler County area.
Pate won first place for a 2022 Syrah in the Dry Red category, which had the largest number of entries.
“I enter the Wine Frenzy Competition because I want to support the Butler County Fair. I want that to be successful, so that’s why I enter that contest,” Pate said. “It’s a way to have your efforts validated. You can get honest feedback from the judges, see how you’re doing and hear how other people are experiencing your wine. That can be really helpful.”
Other winning members of the Butler County Grape Stompers include Jack Barrett, founder of the group, who won first place in the Dry White category for his 2020 Riesling and third place in the same category for another Riesling; Paul Todys, past president of the club, had six wins this year, including first place for a 2023 Cherry Sparkling wine in the Sparkling category.
Club member Kevin Vidourek took home three first-place honors in the fruit, vegetable and dessert wine categories. He also received a third-place ribbon for a 2024 triple berry in the fruit category. Mike Grimshaw’s 2021 Malbec was named as the second-place winner in the dry red category.
The awards recognize excellence in amateur wine making. Large clubs with hundreds of members from established wine regions typically dominate these types of competitions.
The local club
Butler County Grape Stompers was established by local amateur winemakers who seek to promote better wine making through education, experience and exchange. The club’s 20-22 active members, including several Butler County residents, meet monthly to further their individual winemaking skills and to promote expertise of the craft. The group was founded in 2013, and it draws members from Butler County, Cincinnati and Dayton.
Pate said Butler County Grape Stompers is an offshoot of the Cincinnati Vintners Club, a Cincinnati-based group for amateur winemakers.
He has personally been making wine since 1995, and he said the club is a great resource.
“We are a group of winemakers, and it’s about education, how to better your craft and make better wine,” Pate said. “It also gives us the ability to source grapes as a group.”
As far as benefits to its members, he said, “We make some pretty good wine. That’s the bottom line. I can tell you from when people started with the club, there’s a big difference, when you compare the wines they were making then and the wines they’re making now.”
Members of the group encompass doctors and dentists to contractors, and when the group members gather, everyone is a winemaker.
“I really appreciate how everybody from different walks of life and various viewpoints can come together around a common cause, and we do a good job,” Pate said.
MORE DETAILS
Butler County Grape Stompers work with other local wine clubs to exchange best practices and to source grapes from places like California, Washington and Ohio for local winemakers. Members participate in international, national, and local wine making competitions including the Butler County, Hamilton County and Clermont County Fairs.
None of the wine made by members is sold.
For more information about Butler County Grape Stompers, email bcgrapestompers@gmail.com.
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