Homewinemakers Gain Feedback From State Competition
By Melissa Dahl
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
One "no" vote. Then another. And another. Tim Holdener knows that sometimes, you've got to be cruel to be kind. While judging at Friday's home winemaking competition for the California State Fair, Holdener remembered his life five years ago, when winemaking was just a hobby. Like most home winemakers, he had a tough time getting any honest feedback from his usual critics — his friends and family.
"What's really hard is to get someone to actually give you the truth," said Holdener, who now is the winemaker for Macchia Winery in Acampo. And although he gave several wines a "no medal" vote, he always makes sure to note the wine's better qualities, too.
For home winemakers, a competition like the one held at the Wine and Roses on Friday is their chance to get a real sense how well they're doing, because many of the judges are professional winemakers. Each entrant receives the judges' notes on their efforts, with feedback on the great and not-so-great aspects of their wine.
"We're trying to help home winemakers; that's the key to this whole event," said G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, who organized the competition for the State Fair.
In the ballroom at Wine and Roses, 10 panels of three judges tasted more than 500 wines from 174 home winemakers, tapping each for a medal, an honorable mention or no medal at all. It's the first time the competition has been held in Lodi; past years have placed it in State Fair headquarters, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. If fair officials deem Friday's competition successful, it could be held annually in Lodi.
About a dozen entrants and five judges are from the Lodi area, said Aaron Kidder, president of Lodi Amateur Vintners Association. Judges rank the homemade wines for their color, smell and taste.
One judge, Ed Moody, pointed to a pinot noir that was a murky brown color, instead of the desired violet red. It's a common mistake he's seen today, caused by too much oxidation, said Moody, a winemaker from Bronco Wine Company, located in Ceres.
After eyeing the wine's hue, judges move to the smell. Brad Alderson, general manager of Woodbridge Winery in Lodi, swishes a glass of syrah and brings it to his nose. He breaths in the scent, but makes no comments. Another swish, another sniff and he finds black pepper and dried fruit. A final swish and sniff reveals a hint of smoke.
The next step is tasting the wine. Alderson takes a sip, pauses to reflect and spits the mouthful into a makeshift spittoon — a wine-stained, white plastic bucket given to each of the judges to keep them from getting a bit tipsy. And no, it's not gross; Anderson insists it's necessary. "Otherwise you'd be sloshed," he said. After making their individual notes, the panel turns to each other to debate, argue and decide which, if any, award the wine deserves. "We try to stop short of drawing blood," said Roger Stockton, a judge from Carson City, Nev., who's a freelance journalist. After appeals from his fellow panelists, Stockton upgraded a vote for a pinot noir from a bronze to silver. "You want to give these guys the benefit of the doubt," Stockton said. "These are people that put a lot of effort into making their wines."
Upstairs, Peggy Bellamy showed off the competition for homemade wine labels, which Bellamy helped organize as a member of Amador Winemakers Association. Labels included a skinny, red leopard stalking across a bottle of syrah and a plum fairy-costumed cow dancing on a bottle of wine from Chateau Moo-ray.
Winners of best in show for the homemade winemaking and wine label competitions will be displayed at the California State Fair, which runs Aug. 11 to Sept. 4 at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Fair officials require the display bottles to be dry and empty upon arrival, creating the perfect excuse for an after party, said Mike Bellamy, the president of Amador Winemakers Association. Volunteers and judges gathered at Kidder's house Friday evening, faced with the welcome task of finishing off the best wines at the show. "We usually don't have a problem with that," he said.
Contact reporter Melissa Dahl at intern@lodinews.com.
First published: Saturday, August 5, 2006