The Michael Pozzan 2018 Zinfandel, Oakville beat out a more traditional Bordeaux blend and a cab franc from Napa to claim the award. Perhaps the biggest shock of the competition, however, was when Groom unveiled the Best of Napa County winner. The wine received 97 points and was described by judges as having a “citrusy, outdoorsy quality” that was “floral” with “fresh spice.” Since Lake County is known for its high-quality sauvignon blanc, that was no surprise. The grapes were grown in the cooler High Serenity Vineyard, ranging from 1,760 to 1,800 feet in elevation.
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In the county competition, Best of Lake County went to the Brassfield Estate Winery 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, High Valley, which garnered 97 points. “It was up from 24% (awarded) gold last year to 37% (awarded) gold this year.” Best of County Awards “On the other hand, the judges seemed delighted with chardonnay,” he said. In general, Groom said the judges were a little tougher on the zinfandels this year, with only 30.5% of those wines earning gold compared to last year’s 39%. Navarro Vineyards is no stranger to the Dessert Wine category, having won it for five of the nine years of the competition. The wine also won Best of Mendocino County and received 97 points. The Bennett Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area that was granted status in 2002 and is located just east and south of Santa Rosa.īest of Show Dessert Wine went to the Navarro Vineyards 2019 Riesling Cluster Select Late Harvest, Anderson Valley. “On the rosé, the surprise again was another Bennett Valley appellation wine being the best rosé,” Groom said. The wine, made from pinot noir, was described as “pretty and delicate,” with “zesty acidity.” “That is a first and great to see,” Groom said.īest of Show Rosé went to Greystack 2020 Four Brothers Rosé, Bennett Valley, an appellation that enjoys the cooling influence of fog from the Petaluma Gap. The other surprise was that a gewürztraminer rose to the top of the whites, as there aren’t many made in the North Coast, with the exception of those crafted by Navarro Vineyards in Anderson Valley. “It was not surprising that a chardonnay was one, but what was surprising was that it was from Bennett Valley,” rather than River River Valley or Sonoma Coast. “There were two clear winners in the whites with way higher votes than the other five wines,” Groom said. For Best of Show White, the votes were equally divided between the Frostwatch 2018 Chardonnay, Bennett Valley, which received 98 points, and the Halleck Vineyard 2019 Dry Gewurztraminer, Russian River Valley, also with 98 points. “We’re probably down to maybe about 100 cases of the sparkling,” Schroeter said.įor the first time in the history of the contest, there was a tie between two wines. The sparkling is only available at the winery and online.
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The pinot noir is readily available at the winery and elsewhere. The surprise was that the other was not a zinfandel or cabernet but a grenache … a really top-class wine that just missed out on being the Best Red by one vote.” “The judging got down to two clear winners,” Groom said of the 17 red wines in the sweepstakes.