The 44th annual wine competition held at the Mendocino County Fair has awarded five different wineries with the prestigious “Best of Show” winners title. The fair, which took place in Hopland, saw 195 wines from 36 wineries submitting entries to the competition.
Among these, Boonville’s Pennyroyal Farm stood out, winning two of the Best of Show awards. Their 2019 Blanc de Noir won the Best of Show Sparkling Wine, while their 2022 PinoTrio won the award for the Best of Show White. These were alongside several other awards won by Pennyroyal Farm, including a double gold, three golds, and five silver medals. All their awarded wines used fruit from Anderson Valley.
Pleiades Wine Company, a newcomer to the competition, was awarded the Best of Show Rosé for their 2022 California Rosé Wine. The wine is produced from Sangiovese from the historic Gibson Ranch vineyard in Hopland. Distinctly, it marked the first edition of Pleiades Rosé crafted by winemaker Dustin Durfee after the death of his mentor and iconic winemaker Sean Thackery in 2022.
The Graziano Family of Wines, a family-owned winery, won the Best of Show Dessert for its 2022 Moscato named Enotrias. The fruit used in this wine comes from Nube Biano Vineyard in Potter Valley and it is known as a crisp yet sweet Italian style crowd pleaser.
In a surprising turn of events, for the first time in six years, the winner of Best in Show Red was not a Pinot Noir. Instead, the 2021 Syrah by Greenwood Ridge Vineyards took the prize, with judges describing the Syrah as “bold and herbaceous.”
The gold medal winners will be available for tastings at the Mendocino County Fair in Boonville, which is scheduled for September 22-24.
