Sonoma County Harvest Fair Reveals 2023 Winning Wines

Top wines will be available for tasting on October 14th at the 48th annual fair.

Santa Rosa, Calif., October 2nd, 2023 / Sonoma County Harvest Fair

After a two-day professional wine competition with 18 judges tasting almost 1,000 wines, the results are in.

Top Sweepstakes Honors

Top Sweepstakes honors go to:

• Wilson Winery, 2021 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Reserve – Red Sweepstakes Winner

• Fritz Underground Winery, 2021 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley – White Sweepstakes Winner

• De La Montanya Vineyards & Winery, 2020 Twisted Jill Blanc de Blanc, Russian River Valley – Specialty Wine Sweepstakes Winner

While there will be many of the County’s best wines including gold medal winners available at the Grand Tasting, the three that rose to the top received rave reviews from the judges. Winemaker Diane Wilson was credited with creating a deeply layered Zinfandel that boasted notes of red ripe fruit and earthy allspice undertones. Clay Fritz was praised for the tropical ripe fruit notes and perfectly integrated oak for a balanced finish for his winning Chardonnay. The elegant bouquet of delicate white fruit, exceptional minerality and almost creamy finish earned winemaker Andrew Schwendeman the win in the specialty wine category for his Blanc de Blanc submission.

Grand Tasting Event

A complete list of the Sonoma County wines that won Best in Class, and Gold medals is available at HarvestFair.org. Fair attendees will be able to taste more than 300 of these award-winning wines at the annual Grand Tasting Event on Saturday, October 14th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s adventure will take place in the Tasting Pavilion at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and promises to be a delicious journey through the county’s finest foods and wines, a chance to participate and watch the World Championship Grape Stomp, enjoy an art exhibit and a classic car show. Tickets are $75 per person, and a new VIP ticket is offered at $150. Tickets are available now at HarvestFair.org.

VIP Tickets

Guests with a VIP ticket will be admitted to the Tasting Pavilion an hour early (12 p.m.) and will be the first to taste the wine and food winners.  The limited number of VIP tickets also include premium parking, and access to a designated lounge area with a curated special selection of wines for tasting. A designated driver admission ($50) will be available for purchase to all participants on the day of the event.

About the Sonoma County Harvest Fair

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair highlights local agricultural, industrial and recreational growers, makers and crafters.  From the Fair’s inception in 1975, it has become a treasured event for Sonoma County and visitors from around the world.  The Harvest Fair is considered one of the premier regional wine judging events in the country, and is an important showcase for Sonoma County’s storied wineries, restaurants and farms.

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