The Bacchus Awards is our annual tradition. Winemakers of Grape Expectations look forward to it every year. It has always been a time of gathering, revelry, feasting, and drinking. Romans themselves would envy our Bacchus Awards! The announcing of the top wines and label designs are a highlight of many. The year, however, COVID shutdowns threw everyone a big curveball. The show had to go on, so we adapted. On July 26th, the first-ever Virtual Bacchus Awards was broadcast live from Grape Expectations!
Through the power of social media, we made the broadcast available. If you missed it, have no fear! Just click on the photo below for the replay. We do recommend you popping a cork from your favorite red made at Grape Ex to enjoy while watching! We, the leaders of the Cork Squad, certainly enjoyed imbibing while announcing winners. Interacting with viewers at home certainly made the experience a lot of fun. Check it out!
Here’s how it works. Each year, winemakers have the option of allowing 2 excess bottles of their handcrafted wine to be set aside for judging. The process is as follows: Firstly, all bottles are numbered. The varietal composition is noted, but the winemaker’s name is not disclosed. Secondly, the local chapter of the American Wine Society receives the wines for judging. Finally, a blind tasting is organized. The wine is judged on its merit against other wines submitted. Members of the AWS and guests are invited to participate. Judges taste and evaluate the submitted wines. Finally, results are tallied for the top wines.
Grape Expectations staff helps in the serving of the wines, however, the staff does not participate in the judging of the wines.
The wines are judged in multiple categories. Wines are primarily sorted by varietal. Each category will be awarded a gold, silver, bronze and a meritorious medal. Next, each gold winner of all categories judged is then evaluated for the Best in Show winners.
Like varietal winners, there is a gold, silver, bronze, and meritorious winner. In addition to the wine winners, winemakers may also submit wine labels for a separate competition for notable labels of the year. This competition is judged by a panel in art & design. Winners of the label competition are also announced at Bacchus. However, medals are not awarded. A ‘flattened’ wine bottle, sporting the winning design embedded in the glass, is the prize for each recognized labels.
The following are results of the 2020 Bacchus Awards:
Adventurous Blends Medalists
Gold: Terry Kurtz
Silver: Shelle Hedrick #1
Bronze: Lori Vargo
Meritorious: Shellie Vrable
Zinfandel/OVZ Medalists
Gold: Chris Curtis
Silver: Sheila Grosse
Bronze: Bob Path #1
Meritorious: Gwen Harvey
Bordeaux Style Blends Medalists
Gold: Gerry Born
Silver: Tammy Madonia #2
Bronze: Charity Barrel
Meritorious: Lisa Sutter
South African Medalists
Gold: Ben Parks
Silver: Martha Bunch
Bronze: Stacy Cohen #2
Meritorious: Keri Stanish
South African/Chilean Medalists
Gold: Christy Miller
Silver: Lisa Hafner-Stella
Bronze: Linda Faulk
Cabernet Sauvignon Medalists
Gold: Bob Hevel
Silver: Christopher Perron
Bronze: Darren Gillet #2
Meritorious: Darren Gillet #1
Italian Blends Medalists
Gold: Tammy Madonia #1
Silver: John Silva #2
Bronze: Jeff Dunn
Meritorious: Dave Tuttle
Chilean Medalists
Gold: Katie Lovell
Silver: Chris Carter
Bronze: Johanna Smith
Meritorious: Lesley Conant
Rhone Style Blends Medalists
Gold: Don Pike
Silver: Mike Schneider
Bronze: Matt Engle
Meritorious: Chris Carter
Pinot Noir Medalists
Gold: Curtis Obi
Silver: Nicole Sharp #2
Bronze: John Pellissier
Meritorious: Justin Pilon
Zinfandel Blends Medalists
Gold: Ben Parks
Silver: Joseph Sublaban
Bronze: Gerry Hester
Meritorious: Shelle Hedrick #2
BEST OF SHOW MEDALISTS
BEST OF SHOW Meritorious:
- Don Pike
- 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre
BEST OF SHOW Bronze:
- Tammy Madonia #1
- 65% Nebbiolo, 30% Barbera, 5% Dolcetto
BEST OF SHOW Silver:
- Ben Parks
- 55% Zinfandel, 35% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah
BEST OF SHOW Gold:
- Gerry Born
- 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cab Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Congratulations to ALL of the participants of the Bacchus Awards. Those who medaled AND to those who enjoyed the excitement of participating.
Noteworthy Wine Labels
We do look forward to receiving your labels. There are creativity, beautiful designs, and oftentimes irreverent, humorous designs submitted for the competition. Dozens of labels are submitted annually. The following are the results of this year’s judging. All submitted labels may be viewed at Grape Expectations. You will see the labels displayed in the party room.
For those winemakers interested in displaying their wine labels on a flattened bottle, we recommend and use Rehab Bottle Company. They have been a great partner. Showcase your amazing designs!
The following labels have been recognized as noteworthy:
- Hair of the Dog – Jeffrey Ghan
- Beloved – John Silva
- Pandemic Prisoner – Cheryl Odell
- Zintensive Care Unit – Sheila Grosse
- Redemption – Keith Asbell
- Life is a Cabernet – Tara Traynor-Grimes
- Scarlett – John Silva
- Cape Town Cab – Melissa Campanella
- Chateau Loose Lips – Clyde Turner
- OPUS-19 – Leandro Galaz
- Recidivist 2019 – Gerry Hester
- Bare Your Barbera – Lloyd Arlint
- Prisoner – Wes Jennings
- Gracia – Jim and Pamela Baxter
- Dark Temptation – Katie Lovell
- Essential Quarantine Relief Wine – Karen Zubia
- No Parole – Bruce Moore
- Mind Sanitizer – Lisa Sutter
- Does the Carpet Match the Grapes? – Mandy Lewis
- La Casa Nostra – Michael Campagno/Casa di Amore
- escape – Barbara James
- We’re in this Together – Dave Clark
- Socially Distant – Tara Traynor-Grimes
- Paesaggi Toscani – John Silva
- On Edge – Dave Gruzin
Congratulations, again! To ALL Our 2019-2020 Wine Makers, we love you all and look forward to finishing 2020 strong with a tremendous fall/California season! Your order deadline is anticipated to be August 31st, however, we highly encourage you to order NOW. We have made it easy to begin your barrel order online. You can start the barrel with as little at 1-case down. The 2020 pricing is $4200 for your first barrel. One case down is only $210. Ordering now will generate a sharable invoice. You may forward the invoice by email or text to your winemaking team to pay their portion. We are offering a multi-barrel discount incentive. Please email Patty for more information on that great savings option!
