Chalk up another win for Madera County wines, which can certainly hold their own against the big name wine regions. At the prestigious Orange County Fair Wine Competition, held June 5th and 6th at the Hilton Costa Mesa, our local wines continued the make a name for themselves within the wine industry and with wine enthusiasts.
Ray and Tammy Krause, owners of Westbrook Wine Farm in O’Neals, received word Wednesday that one of their wines under the Farview Farm wine label brought home the gold once again.
“Imagine our pleasure upon receiving notification from the Orange County Fair Wine Competition that our Farview Farm Vineyard label 2008 Malbec Saint Michael, Madera County ($22) has won the coveted “Four Star Gold” medal in the under $23 class. This means that at least four out of the five judges recommended the gold award, which does not happen very often.”
The Orange County Fair Wine Competition is one of the oldest and largest wine competitions in the U.S. Only California wines are entered and judged, and only wine makers or winery owners are allowed to judge (not their own wines, of course).
The Farview Malbec was the only Malbec to receive Four Star Gold at the competition. The fruit was grown in the Madera flatlands by Michael Blaylock and Darin Peterson, and crafted in O’Neals by Westbrook.
Malbec is typically similar to Cabernet Sauvignon; it’s rather full bodied and can have strong tannins. A key difference here is that Malbec tends to have more spice and smoke. This comes in really handy when you’re firing up any meat on a wood fire – steak, pork, chicken, sausage and even Portobello mushrooms. Malbec has enough strength and acidity to power through barbeque sauce too.
Visit Ray and Tammy at www.westbrookwinefarm.com
