South County wineries continue to eke out a stellar reputation for themselves alongside industry bigwigs from Napa, Paso Robles, Sonoma and beyond, leaving 57 judges with a positive impression on their palate during the 2013 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition last week.
Judging for the SFCWC – recognized as the largest competition of American wines in the world – began Jan. 8 in Cloverdale. Results were released Friday. There were a little more than 5,500 submitted wines – on par with last year’s record-setting number of entries.
Of roughly 140 entries that nabbed “Best of Class” awards, two of them hail from the Garlic Capital.
In the all red blends from $15 to $24.99 category, one of those includes the Maribella red table wine, $18.95, from Fortino Winery on Hecker Pass in Gilroy. Inspired by and named after owner/winemaker Gino Fortino’s mother, Marie, the winery’s signature blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Carignan “offers aromas of cherries and spice” and is described as a “medium-bodied blend that has a perfect balance of residual sugar and acidity that accentuates the berry flavors,” according to Fortino’s website.
From the cabernet sauvignon from $25 to $25.99 category, South County’s other local winner comes from a niche winery tucked away on Redwood Retreat Road in Gilroy, run by husband/wife team Dan and Therese Martin. Their 2008 JD Hurley Cabernet Sauvignon, priced at $25, took home top honors. According to Martin Ranch’s website, the wine boasts “ripe cherry and plum flavors up front, then transitions into a full, round middle and on the finish, it is kissed with soft, balanced tannins.”
“As a group, we did very well,” noted proprietor Tim Slater of the Hecker Pass-situated Sarah’s Vineyard, which brought home one gold, five silver and one bronze medal.
Most importantly, he continued, many of the higher honors were doled in crowded wine categories, “where perhaps hundreds of wineries were evaluated side by side.”
“If we enter our locally grown or locally made wines to be tasted alongside wines from more well-known, well-advertised and prestigious regions and wineries, we will show up in the final results right there with them,” Slater said. “We stand right next to the famous wineries north of San Francisco on the podium. The conclusion is obvious: We hold our futures right in our own hands, and all we have to do is get our message out there into the public eye. Right outside the back door of Silicon Valley, just a step off the porch, is a wonderful wine region with excellent wines made by real people. Rustic and dusty and rough around the edges, but real; wineries where the owner is the winemaker and has purple hands from making wine, or muddy boots and a sunburn from driving the tractor.”
Overall, wineries from Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill raked in two “Best of Class” awards, three double gold (meaning a unanimous gold, voted by a five-member judging panel), five gold, 24 silver and 13 bronze medals. Cheers to that.
About the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
The SFCWC was founded in 1983 as the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition, and was later renamed the SFCWC after broadening its base. Entries rapidly rose from 3,800 wines entered in 2007 to a staggering 4,913 entries from all across the country in 2010, according to winejudging.com. Today, 60 prestigious experts within the media, trade, hospitality and education industries from around the country join together to judge these wines each year.
List of local winners, alphabetical by category
Castillos Hillside Shire Winery (Liberata Drive, Morgan Hill): One silver, three bronze
-Silver: 2010 San Benito Castillos Winery Chilbec red blend, $30
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Cabernet Franc, $28
-Bronze: 2010 San Benito Castillos Winery Malbec, $25
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Castillos Winery Merlot, $26
Creekview Vineyards (Creekview Court, San Martin): Two silver
-Silver: 2010 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, $32
-Silver: 2011 Arroyo Seco Sauvignon Blanc, $24.00
Fortino Winery (Hecker Pass, Gilroy): One Best of Class, one gold, one silver
-Best of Class: NV Central Coast Maribella red table wine, $18.95
-Gold: 2008 Santa Clara Valley Charbono, $40
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley estate bottled cabernet sauvignon, $28
Guglielmo (East Main Avenue, Morgan Hill): One bronze
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Private Reserve Charbono, $25
Jason-Stephens Winery (Watsonville Road, Gilroy), Seven silver, three bronze
-Silver: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $28
-Silver: 2008 Santa Clara Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $28
-Silver: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Meritage, $34
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Malbec, $30
-Silver: 2008 Santa Clara Valley Estate Merlot, $24
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Mourvedre, $28
-Silver: 2011 Santa Clara Valley Estate Reserve Chardonnay, $30
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Petit Verdot, $32
-Bronze: 2008 Santa Clara Valley Estate Cabernet Franc, $32
-Bronze: 2011 Santa Clara Valley Estate Select Chardonnay, $20
Martin Ranch Winery (Redwood Retreat Road, Gilroy): One Best of Class, one gold, four silver, three bronze
-Best of Class: 2008 JD Hurley Cabernet Sauvignon, $25
-Gold: 2009 Santa Clara Valley JD Hurley Merlot, $23
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley JD Hurley Zinfandel, $24
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley JD Hurley Carignane, $25
-Silver: 2010 Arroyo Seco JD Hurley Griva Riesling, $25
-Silver: 2011 Arroyo Seco Therese Vineyards Griva Sauvignon Blanc, $27
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Therese Vineyards Dos Ninas Syrah, $28
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Cruz Mountains Therese Vineyards Lester Family Syrah, $35
-Bronze: 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Therese Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $45
Sarah’s Vineyard (Watsonville Road, Gilroy ): One gold, five silver, one bronze
-Gold: 2011 Central Coast Pinot Noir, $19.99
-Silver: 2009 Central Coast Zinfandel, $19.99
-Silver: 2011 Central Coast Chardonnay, $19.99
-Silver: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Cote de Madone rhone blend, $30
-Silver: 2011 Santa Clara Valley Estate Pinot Noir, $34.99
-Silver: 2011 Santa Clara Valley Estate Cote de Madone Blanc white blend, $25
-Bronze: 2011 Santa Clara Valley Estate Chardonnay, $29
Satori Cellars Winery (Buena Vista Avenue, San Martin); Two double gold, one gold, four silver, two bronze
-Double gold: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Zen Zin Primitivo, $28
-Double gold: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Merlot, $24.99
-Gold: 2008 Santa Clara Valley Estate Petite Sirah, $24.99
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Joyous Bordeaux blend, $34
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Cabernet Franc, $29
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Syrah, $29
-Silver: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Petite Sirah, $24.99
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Harmonic Convergence red blend, $30
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Zinfandel, $28
Solis Winery (Hecker Pass, Gilroy): One gold, one silver, four bronze
-Gold: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Merlot, $32
-Silver: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Baciami rhone blend, $30
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Zinfandel, $28
-Bronze: 2009 Santa Clara Valley Estate Syrah, $24
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Seducente Italian blend, $24
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Estate Sangiovese, $24
Sycamore Creek (Watsonville Road, Gilroy): One double gold, two bronze
-Double gold: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Flagship Reserve Estate Evolution Bordeaux blend, $30
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Flagship Reserve Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $29.95
-Bronze: 2010 Santa Clara Valley Malbec, $24.95
Best of Class: 2
Double Gold: 3
Gold: 5
Silver: 24
Bronze: 13
Note: A “double gold” means a unanimous gold, voted by a five-member judging panel.
