Wine Competition Tastings A trend has been taking place with many of California’s best wine competitions, offering a tasting event where the award winning wines are served by the winning wineries.  We were fortunate enough to be able to attend three of these events within the last year that we felt represented a great cross section of experiences; the California State Fair, The Amador County Fair, and the Chronicle Wine Competition Tastings.  Once a wine wins big at one or more competition they can often become expensive and hard to find.  Going to one of these events may be your best opportunity to try many of these wines before the word gets out.

The 2006 event was held on July 28th; one of those incredible Foothill summer evenings with temperatures in the mid 80s, perfect for an outdoor event.  The Amador County Fair is one of the few left in California that still has its small town feel intact.  There is still a great interest in livestock and the agriculture exhibits instead of what has happened to so many of the other county fairs that place the bulk of their focus on the midway and sales booths.   It is still a local, family event with something for all ages to enjoy.   But don’t think the wines to be tasted were old fashioned or rustic, nothing could be further from the truth. Continued ...