My days have been cluttered all week with last-minute details for this weekend’s San Diego International Wine Competition.
A good bit of my time has been spent at the computer, pouring over this year’s entries to double-check vintages, sugar levels, vineyard designations, appellations and the like. That part of my job as Director of the competition is something of a grind.
What I do enjoy is putting together the judging panels. This year we have 11 panels in groups of three, plus our Chief Judge, my colleague Michael Franz, the Editor of Wine Review Online.
I always try to find what I think will be compatible and complementary combinations. For example, at one judging table I’ve teamed winemakers Dave Stevens and Jon McPherson with Kimberly Charles, a wine marketing executive. They will evaluate the sparkling wines.
Dave, now a winemaking consultant, worked side-by-side for many years with Dawnine Dyer as they produced sparkling wine at Domaine Chandon. Jon, now the winemaker at South Coast Winery, produced bubbly for a number of years at Temecula’s Thornton Winery. Kimberly worked closely with the French Champagne house Taittinger when she led the marketing efforts for Kobrand, the importer.
I can hardly wait for the judging to begin. Here are the judging matchups for the 25th San Diego International Wine Competition:
The Judges
Table 1
Thomas Rees, Winemaker, St. Supery Vineyards & Winery
Wilfred Wong, Beverages & More
Ray Pompilio, Wine Appreciation Guild
Table 2
Richard Carey, Winemaker, Vitis Research
Nick Ponamareff, California Grapevine
Mark Lovett
Table 3
Jac Cole, Winemaker, Spring Mountain Winery
Kevin Walsh, Henry Wine Group
Linda Jones-McKee, Wine-East Magazine
Table 4
Gary Eberle, Winemaker, Eberle Winery
Bob Foster, California Grapevine
Kate McHugh, Quintessential Wines
Table 5
Ashley Hepworth, Winemaker, Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Bob Small, Los Angeles Wine Competition
Traci Dutton, Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
Table 6
John Larchet, Winemaker, The Australian Premium Wine Collection
Eric Runyon, Southern Wine & Spirits
Lisa Redwine, Wine Director Molly’s
Table 7
David Lattin, Winemaker, Kuleto Estate Winery
Dixie Gill, Premium Port Wines
Mark Deegan, Henry Wine Group
Table 8
Adam LaZarre, Winemaker, Hahn Estates
Sarah Belk King, Wine Review Online
Zubin Desai, The Better Half
George Riffle, Roseville
Table 9
Jon McPherson, Winemaker, South Coast Winery
Dave Stevens, Winemaker, Consultant
Kimberly Charles, Charles Communications
Table 10
Roman Roth, Winemaker, Wolffer Estate Winery
Linda Murphy, Decanter & Wine Review Online
Tim McDonald, Wine Spoken Here
Table 11
Duncan Williams, Winemaker, Fallbrook Winery
Ron Rawlinson, Domaine Alfred
Lisa Weeks, TGIC Imports
PHOTOS: Wolffer Estate winemaker Roman Roth and wine journalist and WRO Columnist Linda Murphy.
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