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Wine Press

Reward Yourself With Award Winners!

The Golden State's Finest from the Largest Competition of American Wines in the World

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Every summer we base an issue of the Wine Press on winners from the California State Fair.  This wine fair is a very substantial tasting, where nearly 3,000 California wines are judged.  However, for this issue we decided to glean wineries from an even larger fair involving wines from all over America – the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Every summer we base an issue of the Wine Press on winners from the California State Fair.  This wine fair is a very substantial tasting, where nearly 3,000 California wines are judged.  However, for this issue we decided to glean wineries from an even larger fair involving wines from all over America – the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Founded in 1983 as the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition, this event has really evolved over the years.  In its early stages, the competition soley included wines from northern Sonoma and southern Mendocino Counties.  It later expanded to include wines from all wineries in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties – then the entire state, and finally the entire country!

The renamed San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition has now grown to become the largest competition of American Wines in the world.  From the 3,800 wines that were entered in 2007, it has now risen to a staggering 4,913 entries in 2010.  Today, 60 prestigious experts from across America's media, trade, hospitality and educatioin industries join together to judge these wines.

Most of our picks for this issue hail from California wineries.  While there was limited availability for most of the out-of-state winners, we fortunately had no trouble tracking down outstanding Californian wines and great values.  Many of these winners were already on our shelvevs, while others are welcome newcomers.  You're guaranteed to find something you'll enjoy.  Cheers!

- Hank Beal, Director of Adult Beverages