Results for California State Fair 2013

WINE TALK
#1

Here’s a link to the results of the California State Fair 2013 Wine Competition. (In the interest of full disclosure I was one of the judges.)

http://www.bigfun.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-Wine-Top-Awards.pdf

Comment: Yet again Korbel wins a big award when tasted blind in a competition format. These folks advertise like their wines are mediocre party wines but what they produce is far better. They need new PR people. I also had the Barefoot Moscato blind and thought it was super.

#2

Was there any that you wanted poured over your naked body?

#3

I for one think the fact that labels that some people (not the majority of people) turn their noses up at might actually be decent is praise-worthy. Not that I’m a big proponent of competitions, but they are just another data point in the sea of wine reviews. Well done Two Buck Chuck, Korbel and Barefoot!

#4

Bob, can you tell us how many other sparkling wines were in the competition, and who they were?

#5

Eric-I don’t know the answer to your question. I had the Korbel and the Barefoot in the sweepstakes round only. I don’t know how many sparklers were entered-and I don’t know who else entered.

#6

See, but Bob, that’s where the knock comes from. I mean, Korbel basically ran unopposed. One could also argue that with different judges participating in different panels, there is no real yardstick to measure a full group of wines.

#7

It takes a mensch to stand up for Barefoot Moscato on this board.

#8

Running unopposed? Doesn’t diminish the factor that people tasted it blind and thought it was good. Same with the Barefoot. Good is good. If you drink Kruger by itself is it not great wine because it was tasted unopposed?

#9

Good IS good. But, the whole purpose here is a wine competition. How much competition did it have? More entries = more competition.

#10

These competitions are a joke. Not even worth a look for the most part. Sure, once in a while, something comes out that makes sense. But please, let’s save the gold ribbons for some girl or boy who ties the best knot or something.

#11

I pretty much agree w/ Kyle on this one. They’re just one more data point in my search for wines to try.
These people that they select for judges (from the list of judges I’ve perused) have good palates…darned good palates.
I’ve tasted w/ BobFoster, MikeDunne, DickPeterson…any number of folks that participate in these judgings. They all have palates
that I trust…palates way better than most of the folks around here.
So…Two$Chuck won a Gold in the OrangeCountyFair. Does that make the OCF judging the laughing stock of the entire
wine world?? Not to me. It certainly would to many wine geeks I know. Does it make me want to run out and buy a 2$Chuck??
Well…noooooooo. But, next time I see it being poured down at our local TJ’s, I might give it a try rather than dismiss it out of hand.
I don’t dismiss these types of judgings out of hand or consider them a joke. They (most times) have some very good people
behind them giving their best effort to come up w/ a valid result. Do I rush out, like a Heimhoff zombie, and buy any of the Gold medal
winners?? Well…I can’t recall any that I have done that for. But they are another data point, with not a great deal of weight, in that huge
sea of wine recommendations, for me to consider. If Adam or Mike or Morgan suggest that LimerickLane is a wnry to watch…then that
carries a great deal of weight w/ me. If LimerickLane Zin wins a TripleGold or a Platinum or a Niobium medal at the SonomaCntyFair,
will I rush out & buy one?? Well…probably not based on that one data point. But, combined w/ those other data points…darned right I will.
Tom

#12

[welldone.gif] Once upon a time I was able to cobble words together that made sense, but never quite as sensical as what you have posted here today and I thank you for it!

#13

I enjoy blind tastings, they are humbling. But that Barefoot Moscato is disgustingly sweet.

#14

Thanks to WB my Yiddish vocabulary has grown substantially.

Fair Wine Contests? Meh.

#15

[snort.gif]

#16

This.

#17

2 years ago, (the last time we entered the CA Fair) our NV Humboldt Brut won Double Gold, Best Sparkling in CA at the CA State Fair. It scored 98. It got us some good PR and increased sales locally. I noticed that it lead to exactly 0 sales to the wine geek crowd. Likely due to price.

When I looked at the entries, I noticed that it finished ahead of several entries from Gloria Ferrer (they won the previous year) and I think a couple of Roderers IIRC.

I think that the judging at the State and Orange County Fairs seem pretty good. Year to year, we have some wines that we like better than the previous year. Several times the one we like wins a gold and the one we like not as well wins a bronze. Clearly anecdotal, I know, but the results seem pretty solid, particularly for whites. When a wine is very tart, or delicate, it won’t do as well, but that is hard to deal with when a person is tasting 50-75 wines in a day.

#18

You do realize competitions don’t pit wines against each other, right? Does 100 pts mean more if Parker tasted 1000 Rhone vs just 50 wines? In theory, let me repeat, in theory, a gold medal wine is a gold medal wine regardless of if its in a flight of 10 flawed wines or 10 other gold medal wines. I never said competitions or this specific competition are worth much. Most people here also rip on Jay Miller or Robert Parker scores. The only differences is that a group of people had to come to a consensus to award a gold medal rather than a decree of 97 pts. A gold medal is no more an indicator if quality than 97 pts.

#19

Well said.

#20

Do you think it is no less an indicator as well?