Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705606
Only wines rating 90+ points were award- ed gold medals and were eligible to move on to the "Best Of" category. "Our criteria is to only announce gold medal winners and above. This lets us keep the prestige level high in this exclusive wine judging," adds Del Fiorentino. All gold medal winners were featured in the Sonoma Feast section of The Press Democrat on Wednesday, April 20. Chief Judge Daryl Groom says, "This chal- lenge just keeps getting better and better. Wines were tasted and evaluated by a very diverse, talented pool of influential judges. And the real stars of the show...the wines them- selves. More than 18% were awarded gold. Wow! Congratulations to all our gold medal- winning winemakers." New this year was the addition of young associate judges to the judging panels. Groom adds, "I feel proud that not only is The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge an awesome wine competition, but it will also be known as a fostering and education platform for our next generation of wine professionals." Daryl Groom's expertise includes serving as wine judge in more than 150 wine shows across the United States. He's also made many award-winning wines in California's North Coast AVA and his native Australia. He was named Winemaker of the Year by eight publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times. The Press Democrat subsequently hosted a well-attended trade and public tasting of North Coast Wine Challenge gold medal winners on May 15 at the Sonoma Mountain Village Event Center in Rohnert Park, which also included speaker panels as well as some of the area's top local chefs serving up delicious eats. For a complete list of winning wines and information about the competition judges, see www.northcoastwinechallenge.com. 6. 4. 5. 10. 12. 7. 9. 8. 11. 1. Westwood Estate, 2014 Sonoma Valley, Annadel Gap Vineyard, Clone 37, Pinot Noir takes "Best of the Best." 2. Dan Berger takes notes on what he's tasting. 3. Traci Dutton samples the contenders. 4. Participating judges stand together immediately prior to the sweepstakes winners votes. 5. Judges and their families enjoy a dinner at MacMurray Estate Vineyards. 6. Jusden Aumand discusses the wines. 7. Heidi Barrett contemplates a wine's aromatics during judging. 8. Judges vote for their top picks. 9. Randy Ullom, Ziggy Eschliman and Christopher Sawyer judge the top wines. 10. Fred Dame takes notes. 12. Dan Schuette, Bill Guadiangni (guest judge) and Linda Murphy enjoy the judging process. J u l y - A u g 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 1 5