Trentadue winemaker on what La Storia’s historic North Coast Wine Challenge win means
As the winemaker at Trentadue Winery in Alexander Valley, Miro Tcholakov has produced plenty of gold medal-winning wines during his tenure of more than 20 years.
Winning top honors at the North Coast Wine Challenge, however, had always been out of reach — until now.
Last week, his Italian-inspired red blend — Trentadue’s 2021 La Storia Cuvée 32 from Alexander Valley — surpassed nearly 1,100 wines to win Best of the Best, the competition’s highest honor. The wine also clinched the titles of Best of Show Red and Best of Sonoma County.
“I used to tell Miro, ‘we’re always a bridesmaid, never a bride,’” said Victor Trentadue, whose parents founded Trentadue Winery in 1969. “We’ve been close to winning sweepstakes many times, and now we've finally done it! Miro is a great winemaker. I’m happy to see all of us finally get recognition.”
Presented by The Press Democrat, the 2024 North Coast Wine Challenge brought together 30 judges — winemakers, journalists, sommeliers and others — to taste and assess wines produced with grapes from the North Coast AVA (American Viticulture Area), which includes Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and Lake counties, and parts of Solano County.
This year, a total of 1,086 wines from 221 wineries were entered into the competition, including 38 wineries that had never entered before.
While pinot noir, chardonnay and Bordeaux-style red blends have won Best of the Best for the past 11 years, the first-place honor was a historic win for Trentadue’s Italian-inspired red blend.
“It’s really nice to have something new and different win the top award this year,” said Daryl Groom, the competition’s chief judge. “The votes were very close, but the La Storia was definitely the crowd favorite. The best part was that the winemaker was in the room!”
Miro Tcholakov isn’t just a winemaker; he’s a wine judge, too. This was his fourth year judging the North Coast Wine Challenge.
“I was completely tickled when I found out I won the competition,” said Tcholakov, who also produces wine under his own label, Miro Cellars. “For me, the best thing about this whole affair is that a very unusual Italian blend that won. That says a lot about the judges. The chains are breaking and we’re no longer confined to pinot noir, chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon.”
“What’s interesting is that an earlier vintage of La Storia was in the sweepstakes last year and came in second to Vaughn Duffy’s top-winning Pinot Noir,” said Groom. “The La Storia deserved to win this year. After having Pinots and Red Bordeaux dominate the Best Red for the last 11 years, it’s nice to see a fun blend win.”
Forging relationships
Launched in 1969 by Leo and Evelyn Trentadue, Trentadue Winery is a testament to the family’s Italian heritage with a focus on Italian varietals such as, sangiovese, carignane, Montepulciano and zinfandel. Bordeaux varietals and petite sirah are also significant here, which all thrive in the luxurious heat of Alexander Valley.
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