Willows Lodge and the Barking Frog restaurant just announced the winners of its third annual Golden Grapes Awards held on Sunday, March 3, 2013. The event celebrates the “best of the best” wines made in Woodinville Wine Country and is a judging by the winemakers themselves.
Pictured: Shane and Dan Howard of Pondera Winery.
A special congratulations goes to winemaker Shane Howard of Pondera Winery for winning the King’s Cup as well as runner up for his 2011 Chardonnay (recently featured in Tasting Room Magazine). The winners and two runners up in each of the seven eligible categories are listed below.
The Golden Grapes Awards were hosted by Barking Frog Wine Director Matt Davis, who told Tasting Room Magazine in a recent interview that this wine recognition program was his greatest achievement to date.
Davis invited more than 50 Woodinville wineries to compete this year, of which more than 30 winemakers participated. Judging took place during three private events in February and all entries were reviewed in a side-by-side, blind tasting by category. Judges ranked each wine on six qualities: Appearance (1 point), Aroma (5 points), Flavor (5 points), Body (4 points), Balance (4 points), Overall Impression (6 points) – for a total of 25 points.
“Only winemakers and winemaking staff were allowed to be judges, and the scale is weighted toward their overall impression,” said Matt Davis, Wine Director, Barking Frog. “These are truly the wines winemakers believe exemplify Woodinville wines.”
The public joined the Woodinville winemakers on Sunday, March 3 for a special awards presentation and wine tasting event in the Sammamish Ballroom at Willows Lodge in which the winners and two runners up in each category were announced. Guests also had a chance to taste many of the outstanding wines made in Woodinville Wine Country, as well as to meet and mingle with the winemakers themselves.
King’s Cup Winner
Pondera Winery, SVS Number One, Bordeaux Blend, Conner Lee Vineyard, 2009
Sauvignon Blanc
Winner: Di Stefano, Columbia Valley, 2011
Runner Up: DeLille Cellars, Chaleur Blanc, Columbia Valley, 2011
Runner Up: Woodinville Wine Cellars, Columbia Valley, 2011
Chardonnay
Winner: Brian Carter, Array, Columbia Valley, 2010
Pondera, Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, 2011 (featured in Tasting Room Magazine’s Winter 2012-2013 issue)
Gorman Winery, Big Sissy, Columbia Valley, 2010
Cabernet Sauvignon
Winner: William Church, Columbia Valley, 2009
Sparkman, Rainmaker, Columbia Valley, 2010
Alta Cellars, Columbia Valley, 2009
Bordeaux Style Blends
Winner: Pondera Winery, SVS Number One, Conner Lee Vineyard, Columbia Valley, 2009
Runner Up: Woodinville Wine Cellars, Indomitable, Columbia Valley, 2009
Runner Up: Tenor, 1:1, Columbia Valley, 2009
Syrah
Winner: Guardian Cellars, Informant, Wahluke Slope, 2010
William Church, Columbia Valley, 2009
Stevens Winery, Black Tongue, Yakima Valley, 2010
Rhone Style Red Varieties
Winner: Darby Winery, Flipside, Columbia Valley, 2011
DeLille Cellars, Métier, Yakima Valley, 2010
Brian Carter Cellars, Byzance, Columbia Valley, 2009 (featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Tasting Room Magazine)