Domaine Della 2023 Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Takes Top Prize  November 18, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 2025 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging, Domaine Della 2023 Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir took the top prize. It was also awarded Best of Show Red Wine and Best of Monterey County AVA. Coming in at 98 points, judges praised the wine as “warm and spicy” with “fig and nutmeg.” Other descriptors included “meaty,” “prosciutto,” and “dried rose petal.”  With entries from across the globe, the Harvest Challenge bases judging on a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions and grapes that combine to give personality to the wine.  In other competitions, this terroir is ignored. At the Harvest Challen

The ninth annual Rich Smith Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was presented today to Emily Hodson, the winemaker at Veritas Vineyards and Winery, a co-owner of Flying Fox Vineyards and Winery, and an active leader in the Virginia wine industry. Members of the Smith family and sponsoring organizations present the Rich Smith award to Emily Hodson (third from left). The prestigious award annually reflects the spirit and accomplishments of the late Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands wine region in Monterey County. Rich was first and foremost a family man, but also a successful grape grower and winery owner, and a highly respected colleague known for the combination of passion, commitment and collaboration which helped advance the American grape and wine industry. Ever since Rich passed away in December 2015, three organizations—WineAmerica, N

Two K Farms Cidery and Winery 2022 Bubbly Riesling Takes Top Honors November 15, 2024 — Winners have been announced in the 2024 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging,Two K Farms Cidery and Winery 2022 Bubbly Riesling took the top prize. It was also awarded Best of Show Sparkling Wine. Coming in at 97 points, judges praised the wine for its “Mouth watering citrus and honeysuckle”; “Lingering tropical finish”; and “Perfect bubbles.” They also called it “Well balanced.” With a record number of entries from across the globe, the Harvest Challenge bases judging on a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions and grapes that combine to give personality to the wine. In other competitions, terroir is ignored. At the Harvest Challenge, judges taste wines alongside other wines of the same appellation. W

Lula Cellars 2020 Rescue Block Pinot Noir Takes Top Honors November 17, 2023 — Winners have been announced in the 2023 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging, Lula Cellars 2020 Rescue Block Pinot Noir took the top prize. It was also awarded Best Red Wine and Best of Anderson Valley AVA (Mendocino County, Calif.). Coming in at 98 points, judges praised the wine as “rich, ripe” and for its “Bing cherry,” and “hint of orange peel.”  Lula Cellars is a boutique winery located in California’s Anderson Valley. Its focus is on world-class Pinot Noirs both from its estate and across Anderson Valley, as well as other single-vineyard offerings from the greater Mendocino County. When preparing to plant their own vines, Lula owners discovered some-1,000 old vines “literally lying down, as if waiting to be rescued.” Lots of TLC later, these mystery Pinot Noir grapes have thrived. There’s no in

Novato, CA – The California Department of Food and Agriculture Preliminary Grape Crush Report, containing tons crushed and prices of wine grapes sold during the 2022 harvest, has been released. The Crush Report provides growers and wineries insight into the inventory position of the California wine business as a whole and influences market dynamics for the current bulk wine market, as well as the upcoming 2023 winegrape market. The 2022 California Grape Crush report confirmed today what the industry had already expected; the 2022 wine grape crop was far from a barn burner. Yields per acre were light for the third year in a row, in many cases lighter than projected, and highly variable due to frost, excessive heat, and the continued effects of drought. Due to lower 2022 yields, the overall supply wineries received was less than projected. However, recent trends illustrating a challenging consumer sales growth environment may balance the 2022 wine supply, leaving some wineries clos

The 2022 harvest has finally come to an end. During the growing season it was predicted to be an early start and end to this harvest, but the end-date was delayed for two reasons. First, heat waves in late-August and early-September shut down the vines’ ability to continue to ripen the crop during high temperatures in many cases. Secondly, the heat was followed by a significantly cooler period and rains. Yields, in general, are down from last year, and in many cases are likely to be down from a five-year average. A smaller 2022 crop has kept the grape market supply closer to balance, or shortage, depending on the variety and appellation. Additionally, it means the grape market is positioned similarly entering 2023; however, the outcome of 2023 will be largely determined by consumers sales over the holidays, the health of the economy, as well as early 2023 crop estimates, a combination that can swing the grape market in either direction. Each winegrowing region of California has i

Harvest Terroir Challenge 2020 The annual Harvest Terroir Challenge is the only wine competition that judges entries entirely by AVA, taking into account the unique properties that make up each winegrowing region. Entries that best exemplify the soil and climate of their respective viticultural areas are recognized and rewarded for their ability to convey the essence of that AVA. Winning wines are akin to “terroir ambassadors,” helping to define what makes each AVA unique and compelling. This is your chance to show how your wines stack up to others in your winegrowing area. Winning a Best of Region in the Harvest Terroir Challenge garners huge bragging rights at the national and regional level. A Gold medal here not only gives your winery additional prestige and selling power, it boosts regional recognition and enhances the conversation around what makes your dirt special. LAURA Ness - Wine Writer Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge w

by Steve Fredricks We find ourselves in the middle of a challenging time for our industry and our individual businesses. If we here at Turrentine Brokerage have learned anything in our 47 years, it’s that adaptation, evolution and change are constants. We pride ourselves on long-term focus, long-term relationships, and the big picture of our industry overall. We are confident our industry will continue to thrive. We arrived at this perspective with the help of some wisdom from the transcript of a 1959 speech our founder Dan Turrentine gave to a crowd at the University of California, Davis. Dan was the head of the California Wine Advisory board at the time, and the room was packed. He told them, “In the wine industry, a revolution is in process. While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done.” The recent accomplishments that he referred to included: the new adoption of wine styles, sterile filtration, improved bottling techniques, insulated stainless steel t

By Steve Fredricks In 2019, the bulk market was flooded with supply — and pessimism. There were record tons of grapes for sale at the beginning of the 2019 harvest while many tons languished un-harvested. Traditional buyers became sellers, while many buyers opted to not extend expiring contracts and purchased less in 2019. Some sellers received no offers at all, and what was sold endured severe price corrections, especially late in the year. Some growers started removing financially untenable vines. A tough growing season only added to the misery, with rain at bloom, frost both early and late, high disease pressure, another fire in the North Coast, power outages — let’s just say we’re all happy to see 2019 in the rearview mirror. But cycles of excess supply and demand aren’t new; just check our Wine Business Wheel of Fortune for a visual. Such swings are a natural part of the wine business, and over the last five decades we’ve counseled clients throu