A total of 168 members and guests attended the July Gold Medal Mini-Tasting held at nine host sites. The evening began with a Gold medal winning wine from Gloria Ferrer, Blanc de Noir, Carneros.

A blind tasting followed with six flights of two wines each. The superb selection of wines chosen by Chris Cunningham had tough competition with many sites reporting “ties” for the top wines.

The three favorite wines of the nine host sites are listed below:

• First Place: Ballantine, 2015 Zinfandel, Napa Valley at $30
• Second Place: J. Lohr, 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Hilltop, Paso Robles at $35
• Third Place: 2015 Eberle, Barbera, Kokopelli, Steinbeck, Partridge Vineyards, Paso Robles at $32

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:

• Host Chris Cunningham: Mike and Deborah Webber, Chile Relleno
• Hosts Pat and Frank Solis: Tom Richey, Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
• Host Jolen Zeroski: Sheila Tedesco, Chocolate Fruit Cup with Sherbert
• Hosts BJ and Tina Fornadley: Judy Koeblitz, Chicken Devine
• Hosts Marcia and James Vaughan: Simone Dygert, Boeuf Bourguignon
• Hosts Stephen and Nancy Edwards: Nancy Harman, Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Hosts Sam Puzzo and Carol Frank: Carol Frank, Smoked St. Louis Ribs
• Hosts Stacey and Wendy Taylor: Bill Forsch and Noel DeSota, Nicoise Salad
• Hosts Craig and Ronna Rowe: Kathy Krieger, Blackberry Crisp

Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to the Hosts! A special thank you goes to Chris Cunningham for his selection of the Gold Medal wines.

For additional information on more award winning wines, visit  winecompetition.com.

Please send your recipes to Bill Redding at Bill@ocws.org as a possible recipe in a future newsletter article.

– Bill Redding, Director