Alfresco activities pair naturally with fine weather, and as we head into summer, Central Coasters find all kinds of reasons for heading outdoors to play. Come July 9, look for the crowds to be flocking straight to the Santa Maria Fairpark, where the 117th annual Santa Barbara County Fair unfolds in a blaze of music, fanfare, and dancing lights.
This year’s theme, “Rock Around the Clock,” reveals that fun and festivities rule at the fair, a five-day exposition filled with the biggest, best, and tastiest our county has to offer. Here, kids can explore the midway and play games, families can learn about local produce and livestock, and everyone can dig into some of those irresistible fairground goodies.
Even wine lovers can sip their beverage of choice, for among the corndog fryers and cotton candy spinners stands a welcoming wine booth offering samples from some of the area’s finest producers. Friendly staffers pour affordable wines—by the one-ounce taste or by the glass—that include every-day favorites, as well as a few of the winners of this year’s Santa Barbara County Fair Wine Competition (SBCFWC).
Now in its sixth year, the SBCFWC features a serious judging of regionally grown, fermented, and bottled wines. Eighteen wineries participated this year, submitting their wares for the careful consideration of a panel of 12 judges, plus four guest evaluators, who sat down on June 11 to sniff, swirl, and make their measured decisions.
“All of the judges are volunteers,” said Joe Brengle, Santa Barbara County Fair Advisor, “and all are hired from outside the fair. The judging takes place here at the Fairpark and we had over 90 wines entered, so it took most of the day.”
Whether growers, vintners, vendors, press, or avid consumers, the judges were chosen based on their palates, experience, and recommendations from local winemakers and critics.
Also imperative was their general willingness to give an entire day to the process of tasting and celebrating local wines.
“One of the notable judges we were honored to have this year,” said Brengle, “was William Carter, the Executive Chef of the Playboy Mansion. He’s a well-known wine judge, and he was available and willing. He’s always looking for California wines he can take back and serve at the mansion, wines that fit with his menu.”
Carter, who has managed the kitchen at the mansion for 23 years, serves as a professional judge at wine competitions throughout the state, when not doing guest spots to promote California wines and cuisine. Other judges who converged on the Fairpark included Doug Scott, who once worked as winemaker for Koehler Winery and now is an assistant with the Margerum Wine Company; and Dewayne Holmdal, former director of the California Farm Bureau Federation and Santa Barbara County Fair, as well as a former Santa Barbara County Supervisor and Lompoc City Councilman.
Four panels of four judges each evaluated different sets of wines divided into flights, such as dessert style reds or 2004 Syrah. They tasted the wines blind, graded them using a points-based system, coupled with verbal consensus, and gave awards ranging from bronze to double gold.
From the list of double gold medal winners, the judges then selected an outstanding red, white, and dessert wine to be named each category’s Best of Show. This year’s prize for white went to Zaca Mesa’s 2007 Viognier, while the ribbon for red went to the Ovene Winery 2005 Pinot Noir, Solomon Hills Vineyard. Sunstone Vineyard’s 2005 Dolce Da Alma picked up Best of Show Dessert Wine.
Best of Class awards included Best Merlot: Kenneth Volk Vineyards, 2005 Merlot; Best Syrah: Casa Cassara Winery 2004 Syrah; Best Sauvignon Blanc: The Brander Vineyard 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, and Best Dry White: Mosby Vineyards 2007 Traminer. Eight gold medals were awarded and 56 assorted silver and bronze medals went to other worthy competitors, who often use the accolades in their advertising and sales efforts.
Though winelovers may find some of the winners at the Fairpark wine booth, they’ll have to venture to the individual wineries to taste them all.
“Price-wise not all of them will be available for tasting,” Brengle explained. “Some are in the competition, some are not, but all are within what the fairgoers will pay, and all the wines poured will be local.”
Summertime means county fair time, and here on the Central Coast we like to mix our rodeo and destruction derbies with fruity libations. So head out to the Santa Maria Fairpark, where fun and festivities rule, and even the wine is homegrown.
The Santa Barbara County Fair takes place July 9 to 13 at the Santa Maria Fairpark, located at 937 Thornburg, 925-8824. The fair is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (the carnival closes at midnight), with wine tasting from 1 to 10 p.m. daily. To see a list of the winners of this year’s Santa Barbara County Fair Wine Competition, visit www.sbwinecompetition.com
K. Reka Badger is as homegrown as our award-winning wines. E-mail comments or ideas to rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Jul 3-10, 2008.