Berger: Wine judging and the balance of quality

Most people assume the highest quality wine made in the United States is an overpriced California red on which some self-anointed wine expert has bestowed 90-something points. So when a long-running wine competition proves otherwise, the results are viewed with amusement by “serious” wine collectors who have a snob's opinion of anything called Gamay, Gruner Veltliner or Barbera.

My 35th annual Dan Berger's International Wine Competition was staged last week in Sonoma County, and the 34 judges weren't shocked by the number of ultra-high-quality wines. Many are professionals, either wine makers or in the industry in other ways, and have seen quality rise in many places over the decades.

They are used to seeing and rewarding high quality rosés, as well as vignoles, seyval, tempranillo and dozens more from relatively obscure grapes that thrive in areas of the country where traditional grapes wouldn't even survive.

Since the first competition in 1982, I have seen a major shift in many areas of the trade, including the rapidly improving quality of 100 or more grapes and many dozens of regions.

At the most recent event, gold medals and higher awards were given to wines from Michigan, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and British Columbia, wines that many judges loved so much they offered wildly positive statements.

The competition this year also had a new craft cider category judged by six cider experts from around the country. It drew more than 200 entrants, and awards were presented to 12 different styles.

So exciting was this year's wine event that unanimous gold medals were awarded to a vermentino (Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia); a gamay noir (Château Grand Traverse in Michigan); a barbera from Paso Robles (Eberle); and a cabernet sauvignon from Texas (Grape Creek Vineyards).

There also were golds for an exemplary Chenin Blanc, a dolcetto from Texas and a rose of Tannat.

Wine makers are not the only ones who adore these upstart grapes and regions. They are joined by numerous restaurant wine buyers, retailers and millennial buyers who have discovered what fun it is to add to the mix of more commonplace varietals.

Not every judge understood every wine since styles vary greatly. An Australian semillon from Brokenwood (a 2009 vintage wine) received only a bronze medal, but I believe it to be sensational and will prove to be so in a decade.

Wine competitions such as this one help wineries gauge what professional judges see, and they give consumers a chance to identify wines they might like to try.

Results of both the wine and cider events are available on line at dbiwc.com.

Wine of the Week: 2015 Francis Ford Coppola Rosso and Bianco Pinot Grigio, California ($11): One of the top scoring wineries in the entire competition was the film director's, which won 30 medals including a Best of Class award for this bright tropical fruit-scented, wildly aromatic sipping wine. A great value.

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.