This year the judging panel consisted of 93 judges, each of whom are either a winemaker or winery principal.  The wines are judged double blind, meaning that neither the judges nor the wine steward know the wine’s identity.  The analysis is done using a 100 point scale method, with each judge arriving at their individual wine scores without consulting  the other.    

The wines are divided into categories; first by varietal, then into four price categories and lastly into 6 residual sugar levels.  The awards structure is gold, silver, bronze with three levels of specialty awards given:

* The Chairman’s Awards; given when a gold medal winner’s scores are significantly higher than the other gold medalists in that same category.  42 wineries received this award in the 2007 competition. 

*Best of Class; the highest award level, is given when all 4 judges in a category independently give the same wine a gold medal status.  There is one of these awards given in each price level in the major wine categories of red, white, sparkling and dessert wines.  This means that there are four Best of Class awards given in the Red Wine category; one for premium cost wines, one for high cost wines, one for medium priced wines and one for low cost wines.  There are a total of 16 Best of Class awards given.

*4 Star Gold;  the highest award level given when all four judges in a category independently give the same wine a gold medal status.  In 2007 there were 27 wineries that received that status. 

In 2007 there were 3150 wines entered representing 98 varietals and 420 separate categories.  Awards were not given in every one of those categories, but there were 309 gold, 604 silver, 720 bronze medals given this year.

Here is where it gets interesting for the Sierra Foothills wine region, a region with roughly 150 bonded wineries, or a little over 6% of the total number in the state.  Of the four ‘Best of Class Red Varietal’ awards given in the Orange County competition, three were won by Foothills wineries including the coveted ‘Best of Class Red Varietals, Premium’ award.  A Foothill winery also won one of the four ‘Best of Class White Varietal’ awards and 50 of the 309 gold medals went to wineries in the Foothills.  I have long felt that many of the lesser known regions of California are making some incredible wines and have been too long overlooked by many of the California wine aristocracy.  What has been happening in the Sierra Foothills could not be a better example of the marvelous changes that are occurring across wine country in many places until recently thought of as ‘quaint’ and California Wine Magazine is taking it as a personal challenge to bring these wineries and their incredible accomplishments to our readers. 

In the next few months we will be exploring the wonderful wineries of the Foothills that won the ‘Best of Class’ awards and explore the wines that made them winners.  The first winery we will highlight is Lava Cap and its stellar Petite Sirah.  So take a few more minutes and click over to our article LAVA CAP WINERY, A Passion for Petite Sirah, and see why it is you have to find yourself a bottle before its gone!