San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition winners
N early 7,000 wines from 35 states were entered into the 2018 competition. Out of this enormous field of entries, the following wines stood out to be declared the best of the best, receiving the prestigious American AgCredit Sweepstake Award. Included with each sweepstakes winner are tasting notes by Mike Dunne, contributing wine writer to the Sacramento Bee.
Sparkling Sweepstake
Rack & Riddle (CA), NV Sonoma County Blanc de Noirs; $22
Against a brassy backdrop, robust beads of fine bubbles lift the delicate but distinct scent of tiny berries tossed with slivered almonds. Overall, dry, lean and refined.
White Sweepstake
Brick Barn Wine Estate (CA), 2016 Santa Ynez Valley Vermentino; $40
Allergy alert! This is spring unfolding after an unusually benevolent winter, producing whole slopes given over to wildflowers, blooming fruit trees and tall native grasses.
Pink Sweepstake
Barnard Griffin (WA), 2017 Columbia Valley Rosé of Sangiovese; $14
If any wine could be called a perennial strong sweepstakes contender at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, it’s this strikingly pretty and astonishingly aromatic Rosé of Sangiovese, which by its frank and cheery fruit could lead to a surge in sangiovese plantings throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Red Sweepstake
O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery (CA), 2014 Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon; $100
The tasty O’Shaughnessy emerges from one of California’s recent drought years with inky color, cocky fruit, chewy tannins, considerable oak and a vow that its layering and composure only will improve with five to 10 years of aging.
Dessert Sweepstake
Merritt Estate Winery (NY), 2015 Lake Erie Vidal Ice Wine; $39.99
A bushel of apples, probably some variety likened to honey for its bouquet, sweetness and luxurious texture.
Cider Sweepstake
Goose Watch Winery (NY), NV Finger Lakes Flying High SemiSweet Cider; $14.99
Goose Watch offers a fun path through the orchard, evoking images of fall sunshine and fellowship, everything working together to yield a product you want to share for its uplifting spirity freshness and vitality. Label Sweepstake Rodney Strong Vineyards (CA), 2015 Sonoma County Upshot; $28