San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Celebrating American AgCredit Sweepstake awards
SPARKLING SWEEPSTAKE
Trump Winery 2014 Monticello Méthode Champenoise Blanc de Blanc, Charlottesville, Va.
Jonathan Wheeler leads Trump Winery’s award-winning sparkling, white and red wine programs and has been directly responsible for the winery’s 90-plus point scores with Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and James Suckling, numerous best-in-class designations and internationally awarded gold medals. Wheeler draws on his historical knowledge of the estate having worked with the grapes since 2006. He also brings expertise gained from working in Sonoma and Monterey, Marlborough, New Zealand and his home in the Finger Lakes of New York. Wheeler holds a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from State University of New York at Oswego. He is currently a member of the Winemaker’s Research Exchange in Virginia.
SPARKLING SWEEPSTAKE
Goose Watch Winery NV Finger Lakes Brut Rose, Rumulas, N.Y.
Derek Wilber is a native of the Finger Lakes. He began in the grape and wine industry by working for his father on a vineyard operation outside Penn Yan. He attended Cornell University and graduated with a degree in fruit science in 1980. He managed several vineyard operations in the Finger Lakes before becoming a commercial winemaker in 1984. Since then, Wilber has worked at both large and small wineries in the Finger Lakes. In May 2011, he began his second stint as head winemaker at Swedish Hill Vineyards. 2018 marks the 14th year he has been with Swedish Hill and its two companion wineries, Goose Watch & Penguin Bay.
Zach Pegram got his start in premium wine production working as a cellar hand in the Willamette Valley of Oregon during the 2010 and 2011 harvests. After this introduction, he expanded his tasting experience and practical education in world wine styles as wine manager in a Manhattan restaurant. He earned a master’s degree in enology from Cornell University, and after graduation, Pegram remained in Finger Lakes, spending the last five years learning the craft at various wineries. He is especially interested in varied production styles and experimentation, which have been encouraged at Goose Watch and invigorated by the renaissance of artisanal beverage production in the Finger Lakes.
ROSE SWEEPSTAKE
Turkovich Family Wines 2018 Yolo County Rosa of Grenache, Winters, Calif.
Luciana Turkovich is a native of Mendoza, Argentina. She graduated from the oldest enological university in the Americas, the University of Don Bosco in Mendoza. She has had the opportunity to work with several prestigious wineries in Argentina, including Clos de los Sietes, Terrazas and La Septima. In California, Turkovich worked for Silver Oak. In the early stages of Turkovich Family Wines, Turkovich split her time between Silver Oak in Napa and Turkovich Family Winters in Winters, helping to establish the young winery with her husband, Christopher Turkovich. In 2012, she left Silver Oak to focus on Turkovich Family Wines full-time. Currently, Luciana Turkovich is the head winemaker for Turkovich Family Wines, where she focuses on crafting the best wines possible in Winters’ unique terroir. The winery specializes in small-production of unique varietals. Rhone and Spanish varietals are the mainstay of the winery located in the southwest corner of Yolo County.
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WHITE SWEEPSTAKE
Castello di Amorosa 2017 Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay, Calistoga, Calif.
Brooks Painter has been a winemaker for more than 30 years. His impressive resume includes positions as operations manager at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville and winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Leeward Winery and Felton-Empire Vineyards. Painter has been director of winemaking at Castello since 2005, producing a variety of highly acclaimed 90-plus point wines that have gained recognition from Robert Parker, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. In 2014, he received the distinguished Winemaker of the Year award in the American Fine Wine Competition. Painter discovered his passion for wine while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has been published in The American Journal of Viticulture and Enology, Biochemistry, Practical Winery and Wines & Vines. Painter is a professional member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture and a former chair of the Microbiology Committee for the California Enological Research Association.