![]() ![]() ![]() Helena, also was delighted that a classic sparkling wine broke through the ceiling this year as the top winner. Sommelier Traci Dutton, general manager of public wine and beverage studies at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. “I’m just really thrilled with the way this wine turned out.” Last year we disgorged the last 200 cases,” Schroeter said. “We originally made 1,600 cases, of which we disgorged 1,200 cases as a Winemakers Release and kept 400 cases. It’s a blend of 60% chardonnay and 40% pinot, sourced from two vineyards in the west county, each boasting rolling hillsides and Goldridge soil, a sandy loam. Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards Director of Winemaking Mick Schroeter, who has served as a longtime judge for the contest, said the wine represents the first-ever commercial release of a sparkling wine by Sonoma-Cutrer. “But they always vote for a pinot and a chardonnay, and maybe it was time for (a sparkler) to win.” “We tell the judges to absolutely pick the best wine,” Groom said. In addition, after awarding the top prize to three pinot noirs and two chardonnays over the years, the judges may have felt it was time for a change. With consumer interest in bubbly on the rise, he said, the judges’ choice reflected marketplace trends. Groom also theorized that the time had come for one of the North Coast’s premium sparklers to win big. “They were pinpoint beaded (bubbles), beautifully flavored, Old World meets New World.” “The sparkling wines were brilliant and so pure,” Landis said. Judge Ellen Landis of Windsor, a certified sommelier and wine specialist, was struck by the overall quality of the roughly 20 sparkling wines she tasted during the first day of judging April 6 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds’ Showcase Cafe. It’s a fantastic example of Californian sparkling wine.” So it wasn’t a surprise that they could pull off a really fantastic wine out of those two varietals. “At Sonoma-Cutrer, they do more chardonnay and pinot than anyone else. “Classic sparkling wines are made from pinot and chardonnay, and it takes masters of those varieties to get the base wine right,” said Chief Judge Daryl Groom, who organized the contest. ![]() Although initially a shock to some, the groundbreaking win by the Sonoma-Cutrer 2014 Grand Cuvée, Russian River Valley was not all that surprising considering it was made by one of Sonoma County’s top producers of chardonnay and pinot. It was the first time in the 9-year history of the blind-tasting competition sponsored by The Press Democrat that an effervescent sparkler won the Best of the Best award. A classic sparkling wine from a well-known producer of chardonnay and pinot noir grown in the Russian River Valley took home the top prize last week in the 2021 North Coast Wine Challenge, rising to the top as steadily as its tiny bubbles. ![]()
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