Best Three Hours in Wine Country – North Coast Wine & Food Challenge
Posted on June 24,2019 By John Compisi
Truly fabulous food and wine are what sets the North Coast Wine and Food Challenge apart from other wine country events. The Challenge takes place in early June each year and, again, just kicked-it in 2019. The beauty of this event is that in just three hours, 1-4 pm, participants can sample the absolute best in local food and wine from the North Coast Region.
The SOMO Village venue in Rohnert Park, California is also unique in that it is on an industrial campus with plenty of space and not overly crowded. The event is the culmination of the Press Democrat Newspaper sponsored North Coast Wine Challenge which is judged in early April. More about that later.
In our estimation, the food is the highlight of this event. But food prepared by Dustin Valette, Valette; Shane McAnelly, Chalkboard and Brass Rabbit; Scottie Romano, Dry Creek Kitchen; Duskie Estes, formerly of Zazu and Black Pig Meat Co.; Mark Stark, Stark Reality Restaurants, Willi’s, etal; Armando Navarro, El Dorado Kitchen; Liza Hinman, The Spinster Sisters; Crista Luedtke, boon eat+drink, Mateo Granados, Mateo’s Cucina Latina; Niven Patel, Bollywood Bar, Jeffry Ross, Founder, Baci Chocolatier, among others, all in one location! Unheard of!! These chefs are honestly the best Sonoma County has to offer. Other restaurants and craft food producers included Tizsa Bistro, Pullman Kitchen, Cowgirl Creamery and Gerard’s Paella.
Dishes like: Fusilli with Tomato Vodka Sauce (Mercato), Korean Short Ribs with Green Papaya Slaw (Sally Tomatoes), Monterey Bay Squid with Zucchini, Cabbage, Mint and Peanuts (Spinster Sisters), Grilled Spicy Shrimp (Chalkboard), Seared Ahi Tataki(Valette), Stuffed Smoked Medjool Dates with goat cheese, hazelnuts and balsamic vinegar (Pullman Kitchen), Chili Braised Pork (boon eat+drink) and Pots de Crème au Chocolate, Baci Chocolatier! Are you kidding me??
During the wine judging in April, the judges had the biggest job tasting about 120 wines each in one day. They only considered wines made from grapes grown in the six North Coast counties of Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, Napa and Solano. Conducted by Wine Competitions, a wine and spirits competition management organization based in Windsor, CA, brought these 28 wine experts (influential wine buyers, industry influencers, wine educators and iconic winemakers) from around the U.S.A. to the Sonoma County Fair Grounds in Santa Rosa for the blind tasting of the 1059 entries submitted by 233 wineries. The competition selects the best sparkling, white, Rosé, red and dessert wine as well as best of from each of the six growing regions.
Last year the overall “Best of the Best” award — the competition’s top honor — went to Kokomo’s 2016 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This year, that honor went to St. Francis Winery 2016 Old Vines Zinfandel, Tres Viejos, Sonoma County, which scored 99 out of 100 points. A first for Zinfandel at this competition. The name Tres Viejos, “three old ones” refers to the three vineyards where the grapes are grown. One vineyard is located in the hot Alexander Valley, one from the cooler Russian River Valley and one from southern Sonoma Valley. In previous competitions the “Best of the Best” was awarded to a pinot noir (3 times), a Bordeaux-style red blend, a chardonnay and a rosé of pinot noir.
This year, the “Best of Show White” went to Geyser Peak Winery 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Creek Valley. J. Rickards Winery 2018 Ava Rae Rosé of Grenache, Alexander Valley, won the Best of Show Rosé (last year they took home “Best of Show White” for their 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, Croft Vineyard, Alexander Valley. “Best of Show Sparkling” went to Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards NV Blanc de Noirs, Carneros. Navarro Vineyards 2018 Riesling Cluster Select Late Harvest, Anderson Valley, won “Best of Show Dessert Wine” as well as “Best of Mendocino County”.
In our ‘consumer’ view, the standout wines included: Bubbles from Gloria Ferrer and the JCB Collection; J.Rickards, Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc; Davis Family Vineyards, Pinot Noir; Imagery Estate, Pine Mountain – Cloverdale Peak, Barbera; Navarro Vineyards, Riesling and St. Francis Winery, Old Vines Zinfandel. So many wonderful wines to enjoy.
In the county competition:
“Best of Lake County” went to the Brassfield Estate Winery 2015 Eruption Proprietary Red.
“Best of Marin County” went to the McEvoy Ranch 2016 Montepulciano, Il Poggio, Petaluma Gap.
“Best of Napa County” went to the Black Stallion Estate Winery 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release, Napa Valley.
From Sonoma County, the St. Francis 2016 Old Vines Zinfandel, Tres Viejos, also won Best of Show Red and “Best of Sonoma County”.
“Best of Mendocino County”, Navarro Vineyards 2018 Riesling Cluster Select Late Harvest, Anderson Valley
“Best of Solano County”, Sky Ranch 2016 Two Old Guys Red Blend, Solano County.
Delicious wines delightful food some of the regions most celebrated chefs & winemakers! The crowds were fun, setting most welcoming.
The public tasting ran from 1-4pm, the fastest 3 hours in the culinary and oenology world!
Hard to beat. Put this on your calendar for 2020!