Virginia wineries cop 22 medals in Chronicle contest
By Dave McIntyre
Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 01/18/2012
Washington Post
(San Francisco Chronicle) Local wines shined — or at least won shiny medals — at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest annual contest featuring wines from around the United States. Barboursville Vineyards took Best in Class for its 2008 cabernet franc reserve ($24), while Virginia wineries collected 22 medals in all. Maryland claimed three.
Barboursville also earned silver medals for its 2007 Octagon red blend ($41) and its 2010 viognier reserve ($24).
Winemaker Luca Paschina was understandably excited about the Best in Class recognition for his cab franc, which many people consider Virginia’s best red grape.
“Once more, a Virginia wine has reached world class recognition [on] its own merit, in a blind setting, and it is a great time for all people involved in our industry to be proud, celebrate and yet not [be] surprised of the achievement,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Other wineries were celebrating, too. Barrel Oak Winery, in Fauquier County, collected five medals, including a Double Gold (meaning all the judges rating it gave the wine a gold-medal score) for its 2010 chardonnay reserve in the $25-$30 category. The winery also collected medals for its 2009 cabernet franc, 2009 petit verdot, 2010 chardonnay and 2010 viognier.
Barren Ridge Vineyards, Doukenie Winery, Gray Ghost Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, Philip Carter Winery and Rappahannock Cellars also collected medals in San Francisco.
From Maryland, Boordy Vineyards collected a silver medal for its 2010 chardonnay reserve from Long Green Vineyard, part of the winery’s ambitious replanting effort, as well as a bronze medal for its 2007 Veritas, a port-style wine. Slack Wines and Vineyards also won a bronze for its White Shoals sparkling wine,.
Sixty-five judges from around the country evaluated 5,500 entries in this year’s competition.
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