Best Vintages Receive Medals and High Praise from Judges
(May 3, 2019—San Bernardino, CA)—The Pacific Rim Wine Competition, held April 16-18 at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, brought together wines from across the globe to compete head to head in blind tastings and determine which vintages would take home the gold. Entries in dozens of categories marked the event, which has taken place each year since 1985. Fiercely competitive, wineries vie for the top honors to enhance both their reputation in the industry and their marketing exposure for their various wines.
This year’s top winners included:
- Best in Show and Best in Class Rose: South Coast Winery 2018 Tempranillo Rose; Temecula Valley
- Best in Class Sparkling: Grand Cuvee 1531 Rose; Cremant de Limoux AOC
- Best in Class White: Fort Berens Estate Winery 2018 Riesling; British Columbia/Lillooet
- Best in Class Red: Jeff Runquist 2017 Reserve Barbera; Amador County/Sierra Foothills
- Best in Class Dessert: Pellegrini Vineyards Vintner’s Pride Final Bin; New York/Long Island
“This year’s Pacific Rim International Wine Competition showcased an impressive array of beautiful, high quality wines from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and Argentina, says Competition Director Nicole Varner Orue. “We would like to congratulate all the winners on their awards and are grateful for another successful year of championing great wines.”
More than 1000 wineries entered the competition, in many different categories. The number of interested wineries has increased each year, and continues to highlight the best of North American and Pacific Rim wine producers.
“When judging fine wines, the caliber of the competition matters, and we simply have the best of the best here at the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition,” says Spreti Valente, Chief Judge of the competition. “There are so many aspects of judging each wine, but we are very lucky to have such a large number of well established, fine producers here to make this a significant competition and to be able to truly honor those that are the best.”
The full slate of judges included nearly 30 renowned individuals who participated in a two-day tasting event of more than 1000 wine entries. Master Sommelier Fred Dame, Canadian winemaker Harry McWatters, renowned winemaker, Richard Peterson, recent Robert Mondavi award winner, Gary Eberle, and local favorites Jon McPherson of South Coast Winery and Jim Hart of Hart Winery were among a celebrated group of judges, presided over by Don Galleano, third-generation winemaker at the famed Galleano Winery in Mira Loma.
Since 1985, the Pacific Rim Wine Competition has brought together wineries from across the Pacific Rim Nations. Next year’s Competition is scheduled for April 15-16, 2020 with online entries opening up on January 3, 2020. For more information, please visit our website, www.pacificrimwinecomp.com, or contact Competition Director Nicole Varner Orue at nikki@pacificrimwinecomp.com.
