Sunset Magazine's Organically Grown Wine Winners

Sunset Magazine's annual wine competition took  place July 9 in Menlo Park. Among the hundreds of wines submitted, the judges chose the winners; the list (available online here) will be published in the Nov. issue of Sunset magazine.

Here are the organically or biodynamically grown winners among them. I've starred my faves.

Among the highlights:

Chardonnay: you can spend $80 for a Bergstrom Chardonnay or $14 for Bonterra's Chardonnay? I'm not sure the judges got this one right. Both got gold.

Bonterra's Chardonnay is good, esp. for the price, but hasn't ranked in the wine press like Bergstrom's, which won 94 points from Robert Parker. You might try your own taste comparison...or just stick with the Bonterra, knowing it's a budget-price Gold winner.

Italian Varietals: I am a huge fan of Chiarito (organic but not certified) so I am delighted to see this Mendocino traditional grower/winemaker getting two Golds for its Nero d'Avola and Negramoro, both traditional varietals grown in southern Italy and perfectly suited to our California interior climates (much more than the international varietals - Cab and Chard).

I personally buy these two wines by the case, (If you're a Chiarito wine club member, there's a 35% off sale going on now on both of these wines.)

Bonterra: Overall this widely available (in supermarkets, even) organic powerhouse swept the awards, winning 7 prizes, the most of any organically grown brand. That's not so surprising, given that it's the biggest brand in the organically grown space, but it's reaffirming to see that its quality survives despite its high volume production.

Albarino: I was dismayed to see Verdad get only a Bronze for its Albarino. The label has been a powerhouse for this varietal, so one wonders if the judges are really familiar with this Spanish grape. It was a pick of the week from the LATimes (a previous vintage but still), so the judging seems a bit off to me.

Brut Rose: I was happy to see Handley Cellars get a Silver for its fantastic Brut Rose, which also got a Gold medal in the SF Chronicle Wine Competition and a 91 point rating from Wine Spectator. It's a lovely wine and usually flies off the shelf. It's not made every year, so grab it while you can. It tied with longtime sparkling wine producer Schramsberg (not organically grown), just one more sign of its lovely qualities.

REDS

• Bordeaux Blend
Bronze
Stone Edge, Surround ($30)

• Cabernet Sauvignon
Bronze
Stone Edge Farm, 2008

• Italian Varietals
Gold
***Chiarito Vineyard, Nero d'Avola
***Chiarito Vineyard, Negramoro

• Merlot
Silver
Bonterra, 2009 Merlot ($18)

• Pinot Noir
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 Pinot Noir ($16)

• Rose
Silver
Ceago Vinegarden, Syrah Rose ($16)

Syrah
Silver
Bonterra, 2007 The Butler ($36)
Ceago, 2010 Syrah ($22)

WHITES
• Albarino
Bronze
***Verdad, 2010 Albarino

• Chardonnay
Gold
Bergstrom, 2010 Sigrid ($80)
Bonterra, 2010 Chardonnay ($14)

Bronze
Handley, 2010 Chardonnay ($22)

• Riesling
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 Riesling ($14)
Pacific Rim, 2010 Riesling ($32)

• Sauvignon Blanc
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 ($14)

• Viognier
Silver
Bonterra, 2010 Viognier ($14)

• Sparkling
Silver
***Handley, Brut Rose ($40)

Family Winemakers of California: The Organically Grown Among Them

The folks at Urban Legend (proprietor Steve Shaffer on the left) have the SB as well as a Lake County Riesling with grapes that are in transition to being certified

Voss was new to me - this one's got newly certified grapaes

You can sample the Voss Sauvignon Blanc at Napa Wine Co., says Voss marketing and sales coordinator Crista Johnson. The grapes are just about to be certified (this is the third year on the path to certification).

I hadn't met the folks at Canihan before either...they've got some pretty impressive awards under their belt

Looking forward to visiting Canihan soon - they're in Sonoma. That's Bill Canihan on the right.

Adastra of Carneros

The folks at legendary Calera have just started putting Certified Organic on their back label - Marta Rich shows it off with panache

Josh Jensen of Calera holds up a bottle of their Viognier (I can put their half bottles in my new app since they're under $20)

That would be Calera - for how many years now?

Bucklin and his infamous field blend map dating back to the mid 1800s

Richard Arrowood's Amapola Creek from Sonoma

Another label that I didn't know about and didn't know was organic - Audelessa - from Glen Ellen; Parker's a fan

Oakland's Aubin/Verve makes a Pinot Noir sourced from Oregon's Momtazi vineyard's biodynamic grapes

Greg Graziano from Mendocino has Eddie Graziano's organic Zin (but it's almost all gone)

And the always impressive Grgich Hills (completely biodynamic)

Mila Handley from Handley Cellars - I saw some newbies here getting blown away (and rightly so) by their sparkling rose (I agree - it's soooo good)

Spencer (of Elizabeth Spencer) and I had a brief chat about how do you know something is organic if it's from Italy...to be continued

The always wonderful Mike Dashe and I realized we both worked together at Apple long, long ago (a previous lifetime, to be sure) - I am a  huge fan of the wines he makes from McFadden's grapes

Corley of Monticello has some in transition wines

I ran into the wonderful former wine director of Fish Ehoud Amos, and his wife - they wanted to make sure I got a chance to try the wines from Stone Edge - definitely going to visit them soon (Sonoma/Mount Veeder) - that's Dorothy Moller-Racke, Stone Edge Farms' marketing director, on the right.

Stone Edge's Surround is a blend of four nearby vineyards (all certified organic)

Stone Edge's Cab

Jim Milone from Terra Savia pouring  - almost all of his wines are in my forthcoming app. Look for tasting videos to follow in later posts.

John Fetzer and Patty Rock from Saracina - their new Chardonnay is AWESOME and especially for $16

Saracina's inaugural articles was on display (2004)

Definitely the best dressed award goes to Jason Haas from Tablas Creek, who was doing a fabulous  job showing off their newest vintages (one of which made the Chronicle today) - he was kind enough to do some spur of the moment videos, too - of which later