Nearly 170 members and guests attended this year’s Gold Medal Mini-Tasting at 14 host sites around the county. The lineup of wines consisted of ten Double Gold winners, served in pairs of the same varietal/style. Three of these wines were also Best of Class.
The blind tasting included five flights of two wines each. The varietals/styles included Viognier, Pinot Noir, Mourvedre (and a Rhone red with Mourvedre as the largest percentage), GSM (Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre), and Zinfandel. Nine of the 10 wines finished in the top three at one or more sites.
The Gold medal mini-tasting is unique among the mini-tastings in that each flight is a different varietal/style, so the overall scores say more about the attendees’ personal preferences than about the wines. Our group clearly loves Zinfandels. The two Zinfandels in the lineup got the highest scores overall (by a wide margin) and the third highest scores (one point behind the second place wine).
See WineCompetition.com for details on the medal winners and a link to the winery websites for the competition winners.
The top six wines using the combined scores across all attendees are listed below:
| Place | Winery & Wine Name | YR | PRICE | DESCRIPTION and SCORES |
| 1st | Macchia – Mischevious
Old Vine Zinfandel Lodi AVA |
2019 | $22.00 | 97 pt. Double Gold, Best of Class. This wine was the top choice at seven of the fourteen sites.
52 1st, 29 2nd, and 20 3rd place votes on attendees’ scoresheets. |
| 2nd | Bellante – Figlio e Nuora
Mourvedre, Los Olivos District, Camp 4 Vineyard. |
2018 | $50.00 | 96 pt. Double Gold.
This wine placed in the top three at five of the fourteen sites. 22 1st, 18 2nd, and 13 3rd place votes on attendees’ scorecards. |
| 3rd | Peirano Estate –
The Heritage Collection Old Vine Zinfandel Lodi Appellation |
2018 | $11.99 | 92 pt. Double Gold. Two first and two third place finishes across the fourteen sites.
18 1st, 21 2nd, 19 3rd place votes on attendees’ scorecards. |
| 4th | Wood Family Vineyards GSM Livermore Valley AVA |
2019 | $36.00 | 94 pt. Double Gold. Two first, one second, and two third place finishes across the fourteen sites.
17 1st, 22 2nd, 19 3rd place votes on attendees’ scorecards. |
| 5th | Carol Shelton Wines
Coquille Rouge Rhone Style Red Central Coast AVA |
2019 | $25.00 | 93 pt. Double Gold. Three first, one second, and one third place finishes across the fourteen sites.
18 1st, 19 2nd, 15 3rd place votes on attendees’ scorecards. |
| 6th | Sculpterra – Repousse’
GSM, Paso Robles Estrella District AVA |
2019 | $46.00 | 94 pt. Double Gold. Three second and one third place finishes across the fourteen sites.
10 1st, 24 2nd, 19 3rd place votes on attendees’ scorecards. |
In addition, attendees brought a delicious dish to share and then voted on a Chef of the Evening. The results of the Chef of the Evening at each host site are:
- Hosts Gisella & Greg Brett: Lisa Viceroy “Pulled Pork Sliders”
- Hosts Chris & Hank Bruce: Markee Fritschle “South African Meat Loaf”
- Hosts Nancy & Stephen Edwards: Rich Skoczylas “Pinot Noir Braised Short Ribs”
- Hosts Carol Frank & Sam Puzzo: Adrienne Davis “Cowboy Beans”
- Hosts Virginia & Karl Kawai: Carolyn Christian “BBQ Chicken Tacos”
- Hosts Mike & Cathy MacKenzie: Scott Lewis “Smoked Tri-Tip with Mushroom Appetizer”
- Hosts Betty Jo & Jay Newell: Irene Scott “Chicken Manicotti”
- Hosts Don & Elee Phillips: Kelly Reins “Pulled Pork”
- Hosts Greg & Cathy Risling: Kim Meier “Ginger Pear Cake”
- Hosts Ronna & Craig Rowe: Linda Downey “Pork Roast & Cranberry Sauce”
- Hosts John & Denise Scandura: Susan Clark “Lemon Bars”
- Hosts Wendy & Stacey Taylor: Noel de Sota & Bill Forsch “Osso Bucco”
- Hosts Marcia & James Vaughan: Sandro Leyva “Chicken Chili Verde”
- Hosts Jolen & Amie Zeroski: Greg Hagadorn “Tiramisu”
Congratulations to all the winners! A big Thank You to the Hosts!
– George Cravens, Director