PETALUMA >> Luke Bass was confused when he received a call from the Boatique Winery staff telling him of his sudden fame. It took a moment before they got around to telling Bass he had been named Winemaker of the Competition at the North of the Gate Wine Competition in Sonoma County.
Boatique’s 2016 Sauvignon Blanc also shared a win for White Sweepstakes.
“I didn’t realize they’d entered it,” Bass said, laughing. “That’s my first official first place prize. That’s pretty huge.”
More than 300 wines from all over Northern California were entered in the North of the Gate Wine Competition, and of those over 200 wines were honored with awards. In addition to the sauvignon blanc, Boatique earned medals for their 2013 malbec, 2014 cabernet sauvignon and 2016 rose. Brassfield Estate and Winery took home hardware for their 2013 Eruption, 2015 sauvignon blanc and 2015 Serenity.
But the sauvignon blanc stood out to the judges. Boatique’s new vintage picked up Best of Class and Best of Lake County, in addition to the sweepstakes tie.
“People like wine that is fun and that is a lighthearted, fun wine,” Bass observed.
“I’ll have to remember how I made that one,” he added with a laugh.
The tie for White Sweepstakes is shared with multiple award winner Navarro Vineyards for their 2016 Mendocino Pinot Blanc. It was one of several draws in the judging In fact, this year’s professional judges were so impressed with the overall quality of the wines entered, that two were selected for the highly coveted Best of Show. This year’s tie went to Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards for their 2013 Carneros Brut Rosé and to Navarro Vineyards for their 2016 Anderson Valley Muscat Blanc Cluster Select.
The North of the Gate Wine Competition, held in conjunction with the Sonoma-Marin Fair, is one of the oldest wine competitions locally that give all of Northern California’s unique wine regions a chance to compete for the best of the best. This year three panels of professional wine judges met on April 26 to taste over 100 wines each.
In one day nine judges determined that more than two-thirds of the wines entered deserved accolades.
“There were more award winning wines this year than ever before.” said Valery Uhl, Director of the North of the Gate Wine Competition. “Northern California has been growing and producing world class grape varietals and wines for many decades. The wines produced here continue to hold their own when we compete with other top wine regions in the world and often win the highest awards. New wineries and winemakers are coming on line and are amazing the judges with their beautifully crafted wines.”
Case in point is Trevor Grace of Grace Patriot Wines, who received Best Red Wine for his 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first wine that Trevor has produced under his own label and is currently pursuing his Masters degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis.
This year’s top winners also include Rose Sweepstakes winner Grace Patriot Wines for their 2016 El Dorado Rose of Pinot Noir, Sparkling Sweepstakes winner Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards for their 2013 Carneros Brut Rose, and the Port Sweepstakes winner Pedroncelli for their 2012 Four Grapes Dry Creek Valley Port.
Few Lake County wines were entered in the competition. One label with ties to Lake County grapes that picked up awards was Hagafen. Still, the accolades accorded Bass and the wines is important.
“It’s great for Boatique and Lake County in general,” Bass said.
