The 2025 Sunset Wine Competition celebrated diversity of varietals and origins with the top winners, beginning with the Best White, the 2024 Brockmeyer Family Wines Albariño from Walla Walla, WA. It beat out an excellent 2024 Chenin Blanc from Husch (Anderson Valley), a fantastic 2024 Torrentes from Wise Villa Wines in Lincoln, CA, a pretty 2024 Halleck Wines Gewurztraminer from Napa, a sassy 2024 Kukeri Sauvignon Blanc from Russian River Valley and a juicy 2024 Bricoleur Viognier from Windsor, CA.
Best Rosé went to the juicy 2024 Folded Hills Grenache from Santa Ynez, beating out a rhubarb and raspberry laden 2024 rosé of pinot noir from King Estate, Willamette Valley, OR.
Best Red and Best of Show went to the 2022 Pallas Blend from Imagery Estate in Cloverdale, CA. Other reds that impressed in the Sunset Sweepstakes round included the 2022 Gibbs Cabernet Franc from the Cesta Vineyard in Napa, the 2022 St. Francis Moon Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Barrister Petit Verdot from Columbia Valley, a wonderfully suave 2022 MaryHill Syrah from Walla Walla and a stout yet approachable 2021 Notre Vue Merlot from Chalk Hill, Sonoma. Best sparkling went to the 2019 Ultra Brut from Domaine Carneros.
Locally, Alamitos Vineyards in San Jose’s Almaden Valley is also a winner. Their 2024 “Laura’s Love” Rosé recently received gold medals from three competitions in a row, including Experience Rosé Competition and the 2025 International Women’s Wine Competition.
A unique blend of estate-grown Syrah, Touriga Nacional and alvarinho (albariño) sourced from Santa Barbara County, this unusual blend was crafted by winemaker George Troquato, who says the blend “pushes the boundaries of traditional winemaking.” My verdict? What’s not to love about a pale pink wine that smells like rose petals, tastes like nectarine, lime and raspberry hard candy and delivers enough grip to convince you it’s red?
Do you long for the good old days when winetasting, even in Napa, was free? Well, Jean Charles Boisset, he of the red socks and flamingly French jewelry, has declared a moratorium on tasting fees at two of his establishments, DeLoach and Raymond. Complimentary tasting flights will be offered on Thursdays and Sundays.
Taste of The Mountains brings 15 of the top Santa Cruz Mountains wine brands to the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay for tasting by the sea on a summer’s eve. Throw in some sunset colors and light bites prepared by the resort, and maybe an overnight on the coast, on Thursday evening, July 24, 5-8 p.m. Tickets are $95 at https://winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/ritz.
K&L wines recently sent out an email regarding a notable wine from Ian Brand, one of our rockstar Santa Cruz Mountains winemakers, announcing that the 2021 I. Brand Fellom Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($74.95), was recently awarded 98 points by Jeb Dunnuck. Why is this significant? First of all, Brand, who has a tasting room in Carmel Valley and sources wines from premium vineyards on the Central Coast, is an impressive, diversely talented winemaker. He can turn out a spritely, juicy, knife-edged albariño (you can find his La Marea Albariño at New Leaf), as easily as he can a statuesque cabernet sauvignon from Bates Ranch, arguably one of the premium vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
At 2,200 feet, Fellom Ranch shares a fence line with another legendary Cupertino vineyard: Ridge Monte Bello. Brand sources fruit from two old-vine blocks planted in 1980 and 1982 to a heritage Beringer clone on east- and north-facing slopes rooted in limestone-rich soils. These vines are still going strong.
Brand uses a large-format Austrian Stockinger cask to mellow the juice, preferring to focus on the wine’s inside voice. There is no lack of power, just prolonged intensity and boldness without loss of manners. Ryan Woodhouse, K&L’s domestic wine buyer, says, “The result is a cabernet of striking finesse and quiet power.”
Speaking of Ridge, they’re opening a new tasting room in Paso Robles. There are well over 200 tasting rooms in the region, and if you haven’t looked lately, there are 13 sub AVAs, with more under consideration. More full-service resorts like The Allegretto, a Tuscan village where you can wine taste in the courtyard, chill out with spa treatments or take a cosmic star walk, have sprung up. Downtown is swimming in great lodging include all the chains, plus the superb Hotel Cheval, The Stables, the funky Melody Ranch Motel and that venerable old original, The Paso Robles Inn. Recently, the new AVA Hotel debuted, and the ever-vibrant restaurant scene seems brighter than ever. The Ridge outpost is located at 3340 Ramada Drive, Suite D, Paso Robles, 1-805-840-2414. Hours are Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.