This past week was the 2007 Jefferson Cup, an annual wine competition put on by Doug Frost that I assist with. The event is American-only and routinely features wines from states all over the country, including: California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, Ohio, Kentucky, and more. It's a great event, and very, very, very enlightening.
Normally I would have three million things to say, but because of all the craziness of the event and then the pressure of getting the charity portion of the event set up I tasted probably only about six wines total. Not a great learning experience for me this year. Also, I have to admit that when I did have the chance to sit down and try some things I was cherry picking through stuff I already knew was pretty special.
But, if there is one thing to say about this year's results, it's that they were pretty boring. Seriously. That is not to say the entries we got were substandard. I'm saying the exact opposite. We had a laundry list of great producers from every portion of the country. It's just that for the last several years when I have done this event it has always been fun to learn new things and get exposed to great new wines. This year I just didn't feel that way.
I haven't had a chance to review the full results yet (on Thursday I was making sure that each of the four panels received their 160 or so wines, all in the correct order and properly coded for blind tasting), so my statements might not be 100% accurate. When I looked at the finals table I was really, really, really impressed by the 51 wines selected as Jefferson Cup nominees. Briefly glancing at some of the wineries that consistently scored high I was also thrilled. I just wasn't surprised.
Delille makes great wines. Not exactly a groundbreaking revelation. L. Mawby turns out top-flight Sparkling wines. Nothing new there. Paul Draper of Ridge makes spectacular wines. I don't think that qualifies as a major newsflash. Adam Puchta and St. James (Missouri), St. Julien (Michigan), Callaghan (Arizona), Gruet (New Mexico), Konstatin Frank (New York), and the Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle reserve level wines are all wonderful. Once again, nothing particularly groundbreaking.
Part of this is no doubt a result of being around this event for several years. I'm familiar with which wineries turn out great stuff on a consistent basis. Being told that wineries like Carol Shelton, Walla Walla Vintners, Ayres, and Segehesio are making really good wines isn't news to me because that was beat into my head prior to this year's event. But in a way it is sad because I've become accustomed to learning about great new wineries each time I do this event. As I've learned more, there are fewer surprises.
But at the same time in reinforces one of my major beliefs, and one of the things I consistently try to instill in people: great winemakers make great wines. It really is that simple. Some people believe anything from a famous wine region is great (or just as bad, anything from a region that doesn't have major clout can't be good), or that the most important thing is getting the "great vintages." Nothing could be further from the truth. You could put me Pomerol, Vosne-Romanee, or Rutherford tomorrow and if I turned out something that even warranted being put in a bottle it would be a miracle. I'm sure that 2005 did offer spectacular growing conditions in Burgundy and the Southern Rhone Valley, but an inexperienced farmer wouldn't know how to take advantage of it, and once again there is the minor detail of turning fruit with great potential into wine. The best producers know how to make the most of these great opportunities, and probably more importantly they know how still deliver a wonderful wine when conditions aren't perfect.
In a sense I'm bummed that nothing I'd never heard of before grabbed me this year, but most of that is due to the fact that I really didn't have the chance to taste anything. As for the results, they merely prove the facts. People that know what they are doing will always make the best wine. I shouldn't be bummed about that. I should be thankful.
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