LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) is proud to announce the 2014 Lake County Wine Awards Competition.
This highly anticipated professional judging event exclusively showcases wine crafted of grapes grown and cultivated in Lake County.
Bob Fraser, adjunct instructor and recently retired head of the Santa Rosa Junior College Wine Studies Program will preside as director for the 2014 professional judging.
He also is associated with the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
The public will be invited to taste the competition’s winning wines at the 2014 People’s Choice Wine Tasting on June 14. This year’s event will be held at the scenic Langtry Estate and Vineyard, 21000 Butts Canyon Road, Middletown.
Tickets are available on eventbrite at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-lake-county-peoples-choice-wine-tasting-tickets-11194108881?aff=Lakecountywineawards .
Fraser has been associated with the agriculture industry all his life, being born and raised on a multi-generation family farm in Clarksburg on the Sacramento Delta. He received his bachelor's and master's in agriculture business management at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and started a career in agriculture
education with stints at King City High School and Kelseyville High School.
As Sonoma County’s vineyard and winery industry grew in the late 1980s, Fraser decided to form a new program at Santa Rosa Junior College. He created what is known today as the Wine Studies Associate Degree, the first stand-alone wine studies program in the United States. Today, this program has become one of the largest and most prestigious wine studies programs in the country.
Fraser retired in 2014, but he remains on the staff of the SRJC Wine Studies Program as an adjunct instructor. In anticipation of his retirement, Bob and his son Scott purchased some land and developed vineyard, Jago Bay Vineyards, a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Red Hills AVA in Lake County.
The Lake County Wine Competition is open to wines that contain at least 75 percent Lake County winegrapes and bear a Lake County appellation on the label.
Lake County’s reputation for both high-quality wines and high-quality winegrapes continues to grow. The 2013 competition drew more than 120 wines to be judged. This number is expected to increase this year.
Wines will be judged by a panel of highly regarded professionals selected from the wine industry, media, and educational fields.
This year’s panel includes Virginie Boone, contributing editor, Wine Enthusiast: Tom Simoneau, The Wine Guy; Christopher Sawyer, sommelier, Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, Sonoma; Sue Straight, a freelance writer and wine judge; Ken Landis, Chef/Owner, Landis Shores Oceanfront Inn, Half Moon Bay; and Jim Gordon, recently named wine reviewer for Lake County wines by the Wine Enthusiast.
They will be joined by Bob Ecker, Wine Writer/Photographer; John Giannini, winemaker of Fresno State Vineyards, California State University; and Richard Thomas, Professor Emeritus Viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College.
The judging panel will blind taste and score all entries beginning Wednesday, June 11, at Brassfield Estate Winery.
Competition information and results will be available on the Lake County Wine Awards Web site, www.lakecowineawards.org .
LCWA works to promote the wines of Lake County’s high elevation region. Membership is open to wineries, winegrape growers, and individuals or businesses interested in promoting the Lake County wine industry.
For more information about upcoming events, sponsorship or membership opportunities, call 707-357-5237 or visit www.lakecountywineries.org .