Of over 5,500 wines from North America in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the winners of all the top categories were from California, a first in my years of judging.
Now in its 26th year the competition, held at the Citrus Fair in Cloverdale, is run by Bob and Cary Fraser and their children, Scott Fraser and Alexandra Fraser Alvarez. It’s truly a family affair, as many of the panel coordinators are relatives and friends, and judges come from all over the US, including Missouri, Washington, New York and Texas.
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There were 16 panels of judges who narrowed down the entry pool to 56 contenders in the final Sweepstakes round held Friday, Jan. 16. The prospect of judging 56 red blends under $20 is scary, and perhaps even more so the task of evaluating 40-plus cabs over $75, which tend to be a double whammy of new oak and enough tannin to sink a battleship.
We chose the Piper Sonoma NV Brut ($23) from Sonoma County as Best Sparkling from a field of five finalists, and picked the 2025 Lewis Grace Rosé ($26) from El Dorado County as Best Rosé from a field of seven Best of Class winners.
In the Specialty Category, which included two dessert wines, a cream sherry from Stone Hill Winery in Missouri ($29.99), a port-style Angelica made of Mission grapes from Skinner Vineyards ($125) in El Dorado, a hard cider (yum) from Tomasello in New Jersey ($19) and an alcohol-free chenin and sauvignon blanc blend (not so yum), the Late Harvest Gewurztraminer dessert wine from Napa’s Castello d’Amarosa ($49), sourced from Anderson Valley, was victorious.
Continuing the California-dominant results, a 2025 New Clairveaux Viognier ($22) from Tehama County took Best White, and Best Red went to Paso Robles-based Pianetta Winery for an outstanding 2022 Syrah ($44) from the El Pomar District.
There were so many lovely whites, including a wonderful 2023 Greenhill Vineyards Petit Manseng ($64) from Virginia, an alluring 2024 Rolling Fork Vineyards La Crescent ($23) from Minnesota, and a Ra Ra Wine Company Melon de Bourgogne ($28) from Alexander Valley. Safe to say that it was probably the first time many of the judges got to taste treats like these. That’s one of the values of this competition: It highlights America’s finest and perhaps least known varietals.
In the red category, I’d like to call out the 2023 Berryessa Gap Barbera ($30) from Winters Highlands, the Barboursville Virginia Nebbiolo ($40), the Jaclyn Renee Wines Mourvedre ($45) from the Texas High Plains, the 2023 Helwig Grenache ($18) from Amador, the 2023 Miro Petite Sirah ($30) from Dry Creek, the 2023 Las Positas Estate Tempranillo ($75) from Livermore, the 2020 Peltier Teroldego ($50) from Clements Hills and the 2024 Leon Millat ($35) from Hocking Hills Winery, Ohio. We all experienced the 2024 Sunce Dornfelder ($40) from Mokelumne River, which is a wonderful pairing with Limburger cheese.
You can taste all the Gold medal winners at the SF Chronicle Public Tasting at Fort Mason on Saturday, March 7, 12:30-4:30 p.m. According to Heather Elliott-Hudson, director of wine, hospitality and retail for the SF Chronicle, this year’s event will feature seminars with wine writers Esther Mobley and Jess Lander. For tickets, visit https://bit.ly/460mtVn
Speaking of oddball grape varieties, my wine colleague Allison Levine has organized a festival to give wine lovers access to flavors beyond the usual. The Festival of Undiscovered Grapes, to be held for the first time in the Bay Area, will take place Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Rotary Summit Center in San Jose, on the seventh floor of 88 S. Fourth St. Over 60 wineries will pour oddballs like valdiguie, carignane, ruche, cinsault and gamay noir.
At the festival, a seminar with MS David Glancy and Stuart Smith of Lodi Wine Commission will highlight the treasure trove of Lodi’s undiscovered grapes, shining a light on this grape-growing region and the producers who are bringing age-old varieties to new audiences.
Some of our local talent will be featured, among them Alamitos Vineyards, Brosseau Wines, JMC Cellars, Twice Tyger, J. Lohr and Ridge. Alamitos Vineyard in San Jose will be pouring their alvarinho, gamay noir and Touriga port, while Jessica Carroll of JMC Cellars in Livermore will pour viognier.
Shalini Sekhar of Ottovino Wines was with Neely in Portola Valley for a few vintages. Although she’s well known for her pinot noir under the Waits-Mast label, her personal brand specializes in grüner veltliner.
Winemaker Bill Brosseau of Testarossa also has his own brand, Brosseau Wines, from which he makes wine from his parent’s vineyard in Chalone. You can taste his chenin blanc, rosé of grenache and grenache at the festival.
Twice Tyger, a brand-new winery in Morgan Hill, specializes in Petit Verdot: their rosé, made by Bobby Graviano (Testarossa and Bargetto) is wonderful.
And you may think you know J. Lohr, but have you had their valdigué? Says winemaker Brenden Wood, “Cabernet is still king—always. But when we want to have a little fun, we love working with valdiguié.” Drink slightly chilled for a mouth-awakening experience.
From El Dorado County, attendees will taste cinsault from Madrona Vineyards, viognier from Lava Cap, and tannat from Starfield Vineyards.
If you’re curious about what’s happening in the world beyond the usual suspects, this festival is for you. For tickets, visit https://bit.ly/49Kllqg.
Mark calendars and get your VIP tickets for the Grand Tasting of Santa Cruz Mountains wines at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga on March 29. Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/460mUyZ.
Dining and Cooking