Wine Buzz: Sacramento region places well at Bay Area competition

The 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition wrapped up earlier this month, with judges considering 5,500 entries – a record for a U.S. wine competition. With all the votes tallied, a number of Sacramento-region wineries scored some key medals.

For the second consecutive year, Lodi's Michael David Winery won "best of class" for its white wine blend known as Incognito. The winery also nabbed "best of class" (syrah/shiraz up to $19.99) for its 2010 Sixth Sense Syrah. Michael David Winery also earned double gold medals for its 2009 Rapture Cabernet and 2010 Earthquake Zinfandel.

The love from the judges wasn't just limited to Lodi. Here's a partial list of Sacramento-area wineries that won best-of-class honors at the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition:

• Boeger Winery 2009 Barbera (Barbera).

• David Girard Vineyards 2009 Rive d'Or (Bordeaux Blends $20 to $29.99).

• Klinker Brick Winery 2009 Zinfandel (Zinfandel up to $19.99).

• A cabernet sauvignon using Clarksburg grapes – 2010 the Crusher Wilson Vineyard – from Napa's Don Sebastiani & Sons also took "best of class" for cabernet sauvignon up to $14.99.

For a full list, visit www.winejudging.com.

All the wines will be available for sampling at the San Francisco Wine Competition's public tasting from 2-5 p.m. Feb. 18 at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center (Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street). Tickets cost $65 in advance, $80 at the door.

Meanwhile, there's also some congratulatory toasting at Casque Wines in Loomis. The small winery, which produces just 1,200 cases a year, earned gold medals for its 2010 Vermentino and 2008 Malbec.

Casque Wines is also in expansion mode and opened a winemaking facility in an industrial area of Loomis that also includes a tasting room. Look for it from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, 2373 Swetzer Road, Loomis.

"This will allow us to double our production over the next two years," said co-owner Kevin Stevenson. "We keep winning awards, and we're the little boys. It validates our winemaking approach, and we're having fun."

• Read more articles by Chris Macias

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