Home Wine Competitions and Amateur Winemaker Awards

The winners were  just announced from the 2016 Cal State Fair and we’re pleased with the results. We entered 10 wines and got 9 awards. The one that didn’t win was an experimental Zinfandel that we crushed with our feet and fermented on the stems with indigenous yeast. It’s a funky, aggressive Zin and I love it, but you don’t win awards based on how much you like your wine.  You win awards for making sound wines that display varietally correct characteristics and our beloved Zin Naturale does neither.

On the other hand, Steve Tankersley’s Double Gold winning 2013 Durell Vineyard Syrah is a true show horse of a wine. It’s beautifully made and offers a check list of everything  you expect in  a Syrah : grippy tannins, black and blue fruit, with aromas of smoked game and white pepper.  This wine was in serious contention for the most coveted award in home wine making , the Best of Class Golden Bear.  I’m told that each of the elusive Golden Bears requires both hands to lift, but have yet to experience one in person.

Looking ahead, The Winemaker Magazine Conference and Awards Dinner in Santa Rosa is only two weeks out.  We’ll be pouring our Gold Medal winners all weekend and I’m told Steve Tankersley may even bring one of his Double Golds. See you there.