2011 Humboldt County Fair Commercial Wine Competition Results

Here is a list of the 2011 Humboldt County Fair Gold & Silver Medal Winners:

BRICELAND NV HUMBOLDT BRUT SPARKLING Gold (Best of Show, Best from Humboldt Grapes)


FIELDBROOK 2010 SAUVIGNON BLANC, ELIZABETH Gold (Best White)

MOONSTONE 2007 "DARK AS NIGHT" Gold (Best Red)

ELK PRAIRIE 2005 PINOT NOIR Gold

FIELDBROOK 2009 BARBERA, FOX HILL VINEYARD Gold

FIELDBROOK 2010 CHARDONNAY, ARREGUIN VINEYARD Gold

BRICELAND 2010 ROSE OF PINOT NOIR 2010 Gold

MOONSTONE 2008 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, DRY CREEK VALLEY Gold

FIELDBROOK 2009 SANGIOVESE, FOX HILL VINEYARD Silver

BRICELAND 2010 DORN VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC Silver

BRICELAND 2010 SPIRIT CANYON VINEYARD ARNEIS  Silver

Of note was the unusual judging for the Sparkling Wine.    Since no other winery in Humboldt produces a sparkling wine, Briceland’s non-vintage Brut was first blind-tasted against some tough competition – Veuve Clicquot, one of the worlds best recognized French Champagnes, and another fine sparkling wine from Italy – and Briceland’s Brut came out on top.  It was brought back in the final round of the county competition and tasted against the best red, white and rosé wines and won again, thus earning Best of Show.  Earlier this year, the same wine scored 98, earned Double Gold and was awarded Best Sparkling Wine in the State at the California State Fair Wine Competition.

More Awards for Humboldt Winery - Briceland Vineyards - 2011 Orange County Fair

2011 Orange County Fair Awards:

Silver for 2010 Dorn Vineyards Lake County Sauvignon Blanc & 2010 Lolonis Vineyard Mendocino County Chardonnay.

Bronze for 2010 Spirit Canyon Vineyard Mendocino County Arneis

Briceland Vineyards Winery Wins Big in CA State Fair

2011 CA State Fair:  Briceland's NV Brut Sparkling (méthode Champenoise)  wins Double Gold, Best of California, Best of Class North Coast Appellations.  Humboldt Sauvignon Blanc earns Bronze.

2010 Humboldt County Fair Wine Competition Complete Results

Ok, so I found what I believe to be the complete results for the 2010 Humboldt County Fair Wine Competition.  Here they are:

Overall Award Winners: 

Briceland Arneis Mendocino County 2009, Best White Wine, Best of Show

Moonstone Crossing Super Tuscan Blend 2006, Best Red Wine

Briceland Pinot Noir Fruitland Ridge Humboldt County 2007 Best Wine From Humboldt Grapes


White Wine Award Winners:

Briceland Arneis Mendocino County 2009 Gold

Fieldbrook Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Mendocino County Gold

Briceland Brut Sparkling Humboldt County NV Silver

Fieldbrook Chardonnay Mendocino County 2009 Bronze

Fieldbrook Piccola Mendocino County 2009 Bronze

Lost Coast Viognier 2009 Bronze

Lost Coast Blond Bomb 2009 Bronze

Briceland Sauvignon Blanc Lake County 2009 Bronze


Red Wine Award Winners:

Moonstone Crossing Super Tuscan Blend 2006 Gold

Dogwood Cornus 2005 Gold

Briceland Lake County Syrah 2007 Silver

Briceland Pinot Noir Fruitland Ridge Humboldt County 2007 Silver

Moonstone Crossing Zinfandel 2006 Silver

Rosina Pinot Noir Humboldt County 2008 Silver

Frog Alley Petite Sirah Bronze

Moonstone Crossing Bordeaux Blend 2006 Bronze

Dogwood Old Vine Zinfandel Napa 2006 Bronze

Moonstone Crossing Sangiovese 2006 Bronze

Frog Alley Red Blend Bronze

Briceland Pinot Noir Phelps Vineyard Humboldt County 2008 Bronze

Lost Coast Pinot Noir 2007 Bronze

Fieldbrook Super Tuscan Blend Mendocino County 2007 Bronze

Complete Humboldt County Fair Results

I have searched for a complete list of all of the wines which received awards in the 2010 Humboldt County Fair.  I could not find a complete listing online.  So, I plan to check around for a complete list and post it here if I can.  I will also look around to see any other awards that wineries might have earned.  If anyone has something to add to this, please let me know.

Humboldt Wine - 2009 & 2010

Humboldt County wineries made some very good wine in '09, some of which was sourced from Humboldt grown grapes.  There are now over 25 bonded wineries in the county, with more springing up all the time.  It appears that a slight majority of the wine being made is from grapes sourced outside the county. 

The top two wines in the 2010 Humboldt County Fair were no exception:  Briceland Vineyards Winery had the top honors with it's 2009 Spirit Canyon Vineyard Mendocino County Arneis winning Best of Show and Best White Wine.  Moonstone Crossing took the award for Best Red Wine with it's Sangiovese based blend, 2006 Wish Upon a Star.  In fact, all of the 4 gold medal wines in the event were from out of the area, including Dogwood's Cornus and Feildbrook's Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc.


Some of the medal earning wines were from Humboldt grapes, including Rosina's Silver for a Pinot Noir, and Briceland's Silver for a Pinot Noir and for Brut Sparkling and a Bronze for a second Pinot Noir.


To be fair to the grapes of Humboldt, some of the wineries that produce lots of wine from Humboldt grapes were not entered in the fair, including Cabot and Riverbend.  


2010 looks like a tough year, with a cool spring and a few bad days of heat leading to sunburn.  Let's hope for a long fall and some small but high quality vintages.  Cross your fingers.


PS.  If anyone has items that they feel deserve discussion here, send them to me for review.