Vaughn Duffy pinot tops 11th annual North Coast Wine Challenge

Napa Valley wines were overshadowed in the blind competition, despite the region’s reputation for cabernet.|
SARAH DOYLE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

North Coast Wine Challenge

The 11th annual North Coast Wine Challenge wrapped up Wednesday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, with two days of judging for roughly 1,000 wines, all made in the North Bay. The competition attracts high-caliber wines from Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and Lake counties and parts of Solano County.

To celebrate the vibrancy of Sonoma County’s wine industry, we’re publishing stories on diverse aspects of wine, and the people and companies behind it, throughout this week. Here are the top winners of this year’s competition. Next week, we’ll have the full results of the challenge, with all gold and double gold winners, on pressdemocrat.com and in our print Feast & Wine section. We thank Sonoma-Cutrer for supporting our efforts.

For more stories about the North Coast Wine Challenge, go to bit.ly/3nqsC9Z.

Update: The organizers of the North Coast Wine Challenge on Thursday added Vezer Family Vineyard, 2021 Blue Victorian Rosé to the list of top winners. It tied with Calazor, 2020 LV Red Blend for the Best of Solano County wine.

Napa Valley wines were overshadowed in the 11th annual North Coast Wine Challenge this week, with wines from other counties coming out on top.

A pinot noir from Vaughn Duffy Wines in Kenwood, in Sonoma County, won the top award after judging concluded Wednesday morning at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

The first pinot noir to win the competition since 2018, the Vaughn Duffy 2021 Pinot Noir, Bacigalupi Vineyards, Russian River Valley beat out nearly 1,200 wines to win Best of the Best.

The stellar pinot noir also garnered Best of Show Red and Best of Sonoma County awards.

Only two Napa Valley wines made it to the sweepstakes round, the finalists for the top awards. Out of those 35 wines, none from Napa took home top awards.

A cabernet sauvignon from Lake County was among the biggest surprises, making it to the sweepstakes round while no Napa Valley cabernets did, despite Napa Valley’s reputation for producing cabernet. That sweepstakes cabernet — the Robledo, 2021 Selección Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills, Lake County — went on to win the Best of Lake County award.

Presented by The Press Democrat, the competition brought together 30 esteemed judges — winemakers, journalists, wine directors and others — to taste and assess wines produced and bottled in the North Coast AVA (American Viticulture Area), which includes Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and Lake counties, as well as parts of Solano County.

Here are the top winners from the 2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:

  • Best of the Best: Vaughn Duffy Wines, 2021 Pinot Noir, Bacigalupi Vineyards, Russian River Valley
  • Best of Show Sparkling: Scharffenberger Cellars, (NV) Brut Excellence, Méthode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine, Mendocino County
  • Best of Show White: Husch Vineyards, 2022 Dry Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley
  • Best of Show Rosé: Rodney Strong, 2022 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
  • Best of Show Red: Vaughn Duffy Wines, 2021 Pinot Noir, Bacigalupi Vineyards, Russian River Valley
  • Best of Show Dessert Wine: Fifth Hill, 2020 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley
  • Best of Sonoma County: Vaughn Duffy Wines, 2021 Pinot Noir, Bacigalupi Vineyards, Russian River Valley
  • Best of Napa County: Sawyer Cellars, 2018 Merlot, Napa Valley
  • Best of Mendocino County: Scharffenberger Cellars, (NV) Brut Excellence, Méthode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine, Mendocino County
  • Best of Lake County: Robledo, 2021 Selección Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills, Lake County
  • Best of Solano County: Calazor, 2020 LV Red Blend, Solano County, tied with Vezer Family Vineyard, 2021 Blue Victorian Rosé, Suisun Valley

The full competition results will appear in The Press Democrat’s Feast & Wine section on April 12 and on pressdemocrat.com.

“The general buzz among the judges was just how great the wines were across the board this year; 33% took home gold medals,” said chief judge Daryl Groom. “Vaughn Duffy had to beat out 200 pinot noirs to qualify for the final round, and it’s no surprise they took home the top award. They’re pinot noir specialists, and I’ve always loved their wines. It’s really great to see how well they did.”

The Best of Show White wine, a 2022 dry gewurztraminer from Husch Vineyards in Anderson Valley, is the first of that varietal to win the white wine category. It was a clear favorite among the judges, along with the Best of Mendocino County winner: Scharffenberger Cellars, (NV) Brut Excellence, Méthode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine.

Wine judge Traci Dutton, a sommelier and educator at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, said many of the wines showed beautifully this year. But she was especially fond of the Vaughn Duffy pinot noir and a sweepstakes-winning pinot gris from Inman Family in the Russian River Valley.

“I would take those wines to anyone’s house at any time and be fully confident they would be the first bottles to disappear,“ Dutton said. “They were absolutely irresistible. And the Scharffenberger? I would drink that all day. Maybe I’ll go buy a bottle right now!”

To sample this year’s gold medal-winning wines, plus bites from 25 of the region’s top chefs, check out the North Coast Wine and Food Festival at the Luther Burbank Center on June 17. Tickets are $95 general admission ($50 for designated drivers). The VIP tickets, which provide early admission at noon, cost $150. For tickets and information, visit northcoastwineandfood.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @whiskymuse.

North Coast Wine Challenge

The 11th annual North Coast Wine Challenge wrapped up Wednesday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, with two days of judging for roughly 1,000 wines, all made in the North Bay. The competition attracts high-caliber wines from Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and Lake counties and parts of Solano County.

To celebrate the vibrancy of Sonoma County’s wine industry, we’re publishing stories on diverse aspects of wine, and the people and companies behind it, throughout this week. Here are the top winners of this year’s competition. Next week, we’ll have the full results of the challenge, with all gold and double gold winners, on pressdemocrat.com and in our print Feast & Wine section. We thank Sonoma-Cutrer for supporting our efforts.

For more stories about the North Coast Wine Challenge, go to bit.ly/3nqsC9Z.

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