Home Industry News Releases 2017 Old Ebbitt Grill International Wines for Oysters Competition Results

2017 Old Ebbitt Grill International Wines for Oysters Competition Results

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Washington, DC – On November 6, 2017, the eve of Election Day, a panel of judges convened in the Cabinet Room at Old Ebbitt Grill for the final round of the Old Ebbitt Grill International Wines for Oysters Competition. Their task was to select gold medal winners from among twenty finalists. The remaining wines earned silver medals, while the bronze medal winners were chosen during the semi-final round one week earlier. 

An impressive 279 wines from all over the world were entered in this year’s Competition. Within the United States, 105 wines were submitted from five states (California, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington). The remaining 174 wines were submitted by wineries from twelve other countries (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain). 

In addition to the Oyster Bar at Old Ebbitt Grill, Clyde’s Restaurant Group has Oyster Bars at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, Mark Center, Tower Oaks Lodge and Chevy Chase. The Grand Champion will be served at these five locations during the coming year.

The winning wines will be celebrated at the 23rd Annual Oyster Riot, featuring unlimited oysters and wine. Held in Old Ebbitt Grill’s expansive atrium on Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18, 2017, the cocktail-style party features live music from headlining band, Mudcat (http://www.mudcatblues.com) at the evening Riots and The Bad Influence Band (http://badinfluenceband.com/) at the Saturday matinee. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ebbitt.com/calendar.

Our Distinguished Panel of Judges

José Andrés (Think Food Group), David Del Bene (Clyde’s of Georgetown), Bill Butcher (Port City Brewing Co.), Bart Farrell (Clyde’s Restaurant Group), Michael Franz (wine writer & consultant), Michael Friedman (The Red Hen/All Purpose), Paul Lukacs (wine writer & consultant), Tommy McFLY (94.7 Fresh FM/nbc4), Tom Meyer (Clyde’s Restaurant Group), Luca Paschina (Barboursville Vineyards), Anna Spiegel (Washingtonian), Sally Swift (The Splendid Table), Marguerite Thomas (wine writer), Tom Yannucci (Kirkland & Ellis)

2017 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Grand Champion

  • Prophecy Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

First Runner-Up

  • Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Marlborough, New Zealand

Second Runner-Up

  • Starborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

Best American

  • Hanna Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Russian River Valley, California

Best European

  • Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio 2016, Delle Venezie, Italy

Best South American

  • Matetic Vineyards “EQ” Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Casablanca Valley, Chile

Best Sparkling

  • Fitz-Ritter Riesling Sekt NV, Pfalz, Germany

Best Australian

  • Oxford Landing Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2016, South Australia

Gold Medal

  • Huntaway Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

Gold Medal

The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

2017 SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

  • Sauvignon Blanc, Loveblock, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Jules Taylor, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Wairau River Winery, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2015
  • Brut, Blanc de Noirs, Gruet Winery, New Mexico, NV
    Pinot Gris, J Vineyards & Winery, Russian River Valley, California, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc “Flume Crossing,” J. Lohr Estates, Arroyo Seco, California, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Infamous Goose, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Brut, Domaine Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Columbia Valley, Washington, NV
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Mohua, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Verdejo D.O. Rueda “Verdeo” Torres Family, Rueda, Spain, 2016

2017 BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

  • Albarino, Gotas de Mar, Rias Baixas, Spain, 2016
  • Brut, Cavas Masachs Mas Fi, Penedes, Spain, NV
  • Brut, Pascual Toso, Maipu, Mendoza, Argentina, NV
  • Chardonnay, Blanc de Blancs, Gloria Ferrer, Carneros, California, NV
  • Godello, “Cuvee de O,” Bodegas Avancia, Valdeorras, Spain, 2016
  • Pinot Grigio, Casa Lunardi, Delle Venezie, Italy, 2016
  • Prosecco, Stellina di Notte, Venito, Italy, NV
  • Riesling, Guntrum Dry, Rheinhessen, Germany, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, “Bubbly,” Villa Maria, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Cellar Selection, Sileni, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Cellar Selection, Villa Maria, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Private Bin, Villa Maria, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2017
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve, Sileni “The Straits,” Marlborough, New Zealand, 2015
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Clifford Bay, Vavasour, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard, Martinborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Crowded House, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2015
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Dashwood, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Esk Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Glazebrook, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Heritance, Napa Valley, California, 2015
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Kono, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Las Mulas, Central Valley, Chile, 2017
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Matua, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Mt. Beautiful Winery, North Canterbury, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Opawa, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Pighin, Grave del Friuli, Friuli, Italy, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Round Pond Estate, Rutherford-Napa, California, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Satellite, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Shooting Star, Lake County, California, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, The Seeker, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Trinchero Family Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Sauvignon Blanc, Twin Islands, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2016
  • Verdejo, “Nisia,” Rueda, Spain, 2016

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Old Ebbitt Grill International Wines for Oysters Competition was inspired by the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition in Seattle, Washington. Seafood consultant, Jon Rowley organized the event over twenty years ago, comparing his Competition to “a dating service for wines and oysters.” In 1995, David Moran, Area Director of Operations at Clyde’s Restaurant Group (CRG) was sent to judge in Rowley’s Competition and immerse himself in Seattle’s oyster culture. Upon his return, Moran decided CRG needed to replicate the Competition on the East Coast at the Old Ebbitt Grill. Tom Meyer, President of CRG suggested, “Why don’t we just throw a great party with oysters and wine?” A few dozen oysters and a few glasses of Chablis later, the first large-scale International Wines for Oysters Competition and Oyster Riot were born.

Sadly, Jon Rowley passed away on October 4, 2017. An excerpt from his obituary (Leson, Nancy, The Seattle Times, 5 October 2017):

He made his own way to Europe and began a lifelong obsession with oysters after reading Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast.” The day before Mr. Rowley died, he was still reading and considering his favorite passage, the one that ends “as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

ABOUT CLYDE’S RESTAURANT GROUP AND OLD EBBITT GRILL

Clyde’s Restaurant Group (CRG) is one of the nation’s most successful, privately-held restaurant companies. In 1963, the original Clyde’s opened in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC and is recognized today as one of the city’s “Top Workplaces” by the Washington Post. The brand has expanded to include 12 properties in Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, and the District of Columbia: Clyde’s of Georgetown, Clyde’s of Columbia, Clyde’s of Reston, Clyde’s of Chevy Chase, Clyde’s at Mark Center, Tower Oaks Lodge, Clyde’s of Gallery Place, Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, Old Ebbitt Grill, The Tombs, 1789 Restaurant, and The Hamilton. While each distinctively different, all the Clyde’s restaurants share the same reputation for exemplary customer service and a chef-driven menu featuring high-quality fresh ingredients. All Clyde’s concepts share a commitment to the people and the region they serve, proudly offering local produce, grass-fed, locally raised beef, and air-chilled, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, humanely raised chicken.

The Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest saloon, was founded in 1856 when, according to legend, innkeeper William E. Ebbitt bought a boarding house. By 1970, through an auction bid, Stuart Davidson (1922 – 2001) and John Laytham, owners of Clyde’s of Georgetown, unexpectedly found themselves owners of a second saloon, the Old Ebbitt Grill. It was the first expansion beyond the original Clyde’s in Georgetown, and the “new” Old Ebbitt remains a historic landmark.

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