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Berryessa Gap Vineyards Performs Well at Wine Championships

Berryessa Gap's winemaker, Mike Anderson, is a viticulture researcher at UC Davis

Berryessa Gap Vineyards had a solid showing at the Rhone Varietal World Wine Championships, with four wines from the vineyard receiving scores over 90. The competition was held at the Beverage Tasting Institute in Chicago. 

Berryessa Gap's winemaker, Mike Anderson, is a viticulture researcher at UC Davis. Anderson's 2009 Durif scored highest, receiving a 93. All four wines will display are entitled to display the 2012 World Wine Championships Gold Medal. 

“The thinking was, we start with the same variety, but produce two very distinct wines,” Mike Anderson said in a written statement. “So we planted two blocks in the vineyard; one block produces Durif, a bold and pristine single variety wine. The second block produces our Petite Sirah, Californian in its purest sense. This planting is dominated by Durif but also contains several other varieties that are rhythmically dispersed throughout the block.  The fruit is harvested as a vineyard and co-fermented, producing a wine distinct in its make-up and complexity.”

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Here's more information from Berryessa Gap: 

In addition to the 2009 Durif, Berryessa Gap’s 2009 Petite Sirah, which expresses a different winemaking approach by the ever-experimental Anderson, also earned an excellent rating of 91 points. Durif and Petite Sirah are synonyms for the same grape variety, but at Berryessa Gap, Anderson is making two wines with drastically different profiles. 

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Both of the other wines entered, the 2009 Berryessa Gap Syrah (92), which the winery says has already sold out, and the soon-to-be-released red blend 2008 Berryessa Gap Rocky Ridge Collection, “Tradition” (91) earned excellent recommendations.

“Tradition is a winemaker-crafted blend of primarily Zinfandel and Durif, two of our most iconic Californian wines,” said Berryessa Gap Vineyards Partner Corinne Martinez. “Our winery is justifiably proud of the 2008 Tradition and we are looking forward to sharing it, first to our wine club members and then to the public when we release it this September.” The Beverage Tasting Institute’s profile describes Tradition as “Ruby black color. Aromas of salted caramel chocolates and dried sour cherries with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body and tangy, black raspberry, peppery spice, and apricot accented finish. A delicious, vibrant, and intriguingly flavorful red blend.” 

All four gold medal winning wines were made from fruit harvested from Berryessa Gap Vineyards located between Winters, CA and Lake Berryessa. Their Cobel Ranch Vineyard, located in the foothills of the California Coastal Range which separates Yolo and Napa counties, was planted over a decade ago and occupies former sheep grazing land that once produced champion rams.

The rugged terrain doesn’t faze fifth generation Yolo County farmer Dan Martinez who, along with farming partner Santiago Moreno, produced the rootstock, planted the vineyard and now cultivate the grapes.

The California State Fair 2012 Commercial Wine Competition has also recently awarded two Best of Class awards for the 2011 Berryessa Gap “Horseshoe” Chardonnay and 2009 Berryessa Gap Petite Sirah. Each received a silver medal and a recommended rating of 90.


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