You read that right, three judges from the North Coast Wine Challenge, including special guest NFL Pittsburg Steelers‘ star safety DeShon Elliott, joins winemaker Jesse Katz, of Aperture Cellars, and Sawyer Somm on THE VARIETAL SHOW! DeShon shares how he soaked up the wine knowledge and talks competition flights.
LIKE, SHARE & FOLLOW my You Tube channel, for notification about upcoming episodes, most Tuesdays @11am PST! Email me about featuring your winery on #THEVARIETALSHOW
Revealed during the Awards Brunch, hosted by Fairmont Mission Inn, at theSonoma International Film Festival last Sunday March 24th. Watch the highlights, peruse the list for more details: Congratulations & THANK YOU to everyone involved!
SPARKLING WINE
DBL GOLD / 96 Pts Breathless NV Blanc de Noirs Brut, Sonoma County
BEST OF CLASS / BEST SPARKLING WINE
–SIFF WINE AWARDS 2024
CALLING ALL WINERIES!!!We are excited to announce theSIFF Wine Competitionis coming up quickly! We would like to invite you to submit your wines for only $25! Just select from the 14 categories listed below, which you would like to enter. Then provide 2 bottles of wine for each category you are entering and include a spec sheet with the level of residual sugar information.
Best Sparkling Wine
Best Chardonnay
Best Aromatic White Wine
Best Sauvignon Blanc
Best Other White Varietals & Blends
Best Pink Wine (still)
Best Pinot Noir
Best Merlot
Best Red Wine Blend
Best Zinfandel
Best Rhone Varieties
Best Cabernet Sauvignon
Best Dessert Wine
Best Port Wine
Sign up to participate HERE! Then deliver the wine to the SIFF office, at 103 E Napa Street, Ste. B, Sonoma, CA (above Maya Restaurant) before February 26, 2024: Judging will be organized and executed by sommelier Christopher Sawyer, and a panel of wine experts, on February 29, 2024.
Please let me or Chay (chay@sonomafilmfest.org) know if you have any questions!
Join me and the judging team of American Fine Wine Competition in Miami at the 17th Annual AFWC “ONE THOUSAND BOTTLES” event – to taste over 700 exceptional wines from small, boutique, family-run wineries across the US, including California, Ohio, Washington, New York, Colorado, Michigan, Virginia, and Oregon, while enjoying incredible food from local restaurants!
Sunday, January 14th, from 6:30-9:00 PM FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, FL 33181
All proceeds benefit the Joel Feigenheimer Endowment Fund, supporting scholarships in the hospitality industry and End Childhood Hunger.
Special thanks to our incredible partners: Smart Source Marketing, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU, Two Men & a Truck, Advanced Roofing, VENU Magazine, City & Shore Magazine, South Florida Business Journal, FPL, Coravin, RC Music Group, Chef & Sommelier, Rod Coleman, Esq. & Associates, Preiser Key, Cheney Brothers, Restaurant Placement Group, A Flair For Fudge, The CrepeMaker, Island Fusion, Fogo de Chao Miami Beach, Royal India, and Cristina’s Family Bakery.
It is official as of today, Sunday March 26th, where the announcement was made at the SIFF Awards Brunch! Here are the best of the best, selected by our premiere judging panel. Try some for yourself to find out why.
BEST SPARKLING WINE
Breathless NV Blanc de Blancs, Sonoma County 98 Points
Just a quick note to say I appreciate you following my exciting adventures this year! Stick around for more in 2023 and enjoy this little collection of photos from a year of memories.
From my visit to Chef Laura Pauli, winter lights in Oregon, chocolate & wine at Acumen, and the release of A Perfect Vintage. . .
. . . to Be Bubbly in Napa, the stellar crew of Celebrity Solstice, Sonoma Burger delights and the always incredible eats at Gravenstein Grill! So much to share, join me for more in 2023. CHEERS! Christopher
This professional wine competition became part of Sonoma International Film Festival in 2018: It is organized and executed by sommelier Christopher Sawyer and a panel of wine writers, star sommeliers and retailers, taking place on March 16th, 2022. Deadline for wine submissions is March 11th. CATEGORIES & DETAILS BELOW!
Best Sparkling Wine
Best Chardonnay
Best Aromatic White Wine
Sauvignon Blanc
Other White Varietals & Blends
Best Pink Wine (still)
Best Pinot Noir
Best Merlot
Best Red Wine Blend
Best Zinfandel
Best Rhone Varieties
Best Bordeaux Varieties
Best Cabernet Sauvignon
Best Dessert Wine
Best Port Wine
Select the categories you want to enter from the list above. Please provide 2 bottles of wine for each category you are entering, including a spec sheet with the level of residual sugar information.
Deliver your wine to the SIFF office @ 103 E Napa Street, Ste. B, Sonoma, CA (above Maya Restaurant) before March 11th, 2022. Contact Chay or Danyelle, 707-200-8215 , if you have any questions.
It finally happened, after an initial postponement in April, so now rounding back to the big (socially distanced) competition in July, you can read some results about The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge (NCWC) in my follow up article published by Spirited Magazine in September, and then scroll down for a full list of winners!
Lucky for you our virtual meetup was recorded and can be shared after the fact! In preparation for the Central Coast Wine Competition on October 12-14, listen in this illuminating discussion with Tim McDonald, Jeff Kralik, Sarah Tracey and myself, via the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance!
Get together with us on this coming Thursday October 1 at 3pm: Join our stimulating discussion The Wine Competition for a little peek into that window of the industry!
It is simple to participate via this ZOOM link (Passcode: 813970 ) OR on the Paso Robles Wine page on Facebook.
