MENDOCINO Co., 2/15/23 – The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest wine competition in the country, wrapped up last month, and Mendocino County wine producers, and those of us who love to drink local wine, have a reason to be proud. In fact, 20 Mendocino County wineries and one cidery took home over 100 medals this year, including a local favorite winning a Sweepstakes award, the equivalent of Best in Show.
The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition was founded in 1983 as the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition. The first competition had 45 wine submissions from 15 wineries from within 20 miles of Cloverdale, including Hopland and Anderson Valley. Five judges reviewed the wines, one of them Mendocino County wine pioneer John Parducci of Parducci Wine Cellars. Thirty medals were awarded at that first go-round. Over time, the competition grew bigger and eventually was renamed the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Today, nearly 1,000 wineries from across the country submit approximately 5,500 wines to be reviewed by over 60 industry judges.
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