6th Annual Savor North Of The Gate Wine Competition Call For Entries More than 800 Entries Expected from Northern California Wineries

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Petaluma, CA (PRWEB) March 24, 2006 -- The 6th Annual Savor North of the Gate Wine Competition is now open. Invitations to compete are extended to all commercial wines made with grapes grown in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, Humboldt and Solano Counties with a deadline of April 14 for entries. The competition is sponsored by the Sonoma-Marin Fair and Savor Wine Country Magazine.

“This exclusive regional contest offers the area’s prestigious wine community its own competition and we receive entries from wineries that may not enter in any other competition,” according to Savor North of the Gate Wine Competition Director, Valery Uhl. All entered wines must be available for sale to the public. For entry forms or the list of the entry categories for varietals at a range of price points, please visit www.yourfair.org or call 707-283-FAIR (3247).

More than 750 wines were entered last year. Last year’s winner, Brassfield Estate Winery in Lake County, is still reveling in the recognition, especially for its 2004 Serenity which claimed the coveted White Wine Sweepstakes Award. Brassfield’s Kevin Robinson also won the Winemaker of the Competition Award, having received at least a Gold medal for every wine Brassfield Estate Winery entered. Robinson said, “This is a very valuable competition. You want your wine to be judged among like wines from the region. We’ll definitely be back this year.”

Competition judges are selected by Competition Director Uhl. The panels of judges represent the wine industry and include retail wine buyers, winemakers, wine media, and wine educators who judge the wines in a professional blind judging environment. The private judging of these fine wines will be held in May in Petaluma at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds.

“We invite wine buyers and writers to be judges, because they’re the ones who know the consumer. Let’s face it, buyers taste a lot of wine and their palettes are in tune with the consumer’s. The quantity and caliber of judges are excellent this year ranging from Christopher Sawyer of Wine X Magazine to Kristi Mohar of Fiesta Market,” said Uhl. Professionally a radiation oncologist, Uhl coordinates five other wine competitions and serves as a judge at others such as the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition. (Note: Uhl’s bio is available upon request).

“I like to run wine competitions like Savor North of the Gate because I believe the public greatly appreciates the results of blinded wine comparisons by expert wine judges. Not everyone agrees with the ratings of Robert Parker or the Wine Spectator. Wine competition results can help guide the consumer to better values as well as quality wines,” said Uhl.

The Sweepstakes and Best of Class Gold Medal award winners will be featured at the 2nd Annual Wine Gala on June 3rd from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds’ Herzog Hall in Petaluma. Tickets are available to the public for $35. In addition to pouring the Gold Medal winners, the event will include appetizers from local chefs. Finally, everyone will have a chance to taste the all of the award-winning wines at the Sonoma-Marin Fair Wine Garden during the fair June 21 to June 25. A booklet announcing the winners and results will be available at the Wine Garden and posted on the fair website www.yourfair.org in June. Wine Gala and Sonoma-Marin Fair tickets are available online as well.

Sonoma-Marin Fair, 175 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma, CA 94952 707-283-FAIR (3247) www.yourfair.org

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