Winemaker Reggie Hammond of Ventana Vineyards may have earned a new nickname over the weekend. “Mister California Riesling” scored a rare double when his 2007 Ventana Riesling swept the vote for Best of Show white wine at the 2009 Monterey Wine Competition.
The same wine also captured the white wine sweepstakes at the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition earlier in the year. What’s more, the 2006 vintage of Ventana Riesling was Monterey’s Best of Show white in 2008, giving Hammond and the winery back-to-back titles in the international wine competition right in their own back yard.
In these challenging economic times, anyone looking for a great bottle of wine at a fabulous price should load up on Ventana. And not just the Riesling. Ventana’s 2006 Rubystone, a red Rhone-style blend, finished second in the voting for Best of Show red. Both wines carry a suggested retail sticker of $18.
The sweepstakes vote for Best of Show red yielded a stunning Merlot from Washington’s Columbia Valley. Barnard Griffin’s 2006 Reserve Merlot ($35) was the favorite of the judges and enjoyed enthusiastic support to win in a landslide.
Navarro Vineyards took the title of Best of Show dessert wine with its 2007 Cluster Select Riesling ($59). Navarro’s ’07 Late Harvest Riesling finished third, giving the stellar Mendocino County winery a strong showing in the dessert wine category.
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