The winners of the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition were announced the week of January 16th, 2022! Cultivar Wine and Caspar Estate were among the honorees, with five award-winning wines among the judges’ top choices.

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, sponsored each year by San Francisco’s leading newspaper, started as a northern California tradition in 1983. Back then, it was known as the “Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition.” Since that time, it has grown to become the largest competition of North American wines in the world.

In fact, this year’s competition featured approximately 5,800 wines from over 1,000 wineries in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Of all the wine competitions in the United States, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition remains the most popular because of its focus on celebrating wines from exclusively North American wineries.

And The Winners Are…

This year, Cultivar Wine entered three varietals in the competition, while Caspar Estate entered two. The result? Every one of our entries brought home a medal!

2019 Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Double Gold Medal

2019 Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

The accolades keep coming for the latest release of our Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, crafted by winemaker Julien Fayard (Wine Spectrum’s 2021 Winemaker of The Year). A Double Gold is awarded when every judge on the panel independently awards the wine a Gold Medal.

2017 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon

Gold Medal

2017 Cultivar Wine Cabernet Sauvignon, Leaky Lake Vineyard, Napa Valley

Another stunning wine made by Julien Fayard, the Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon is Cultivar Wine’s only vineyard-designate Cabernet. Situated in the rocky terrain above Rutherford, the Leaky Lake Vineyard is a beautiful example of the uniqueness of Napa Valley terroir. The 2017 is one of the February selections for our Cultivar Wine Club Members.

2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir

Gold Medal

2019 Cultivar Wine Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

This is classic Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, swirling with aromas of cherry, mushroom, earth, cola, mint, and eucalyptus.

2020 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc

Silver Medal

2020 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley

From our Caspar Estate vineyard on the mountainside of the Mayacamas Mountains, our 2020 Sauvignon Blanc impressed the judges with its steel tank primary fermentation and gentle touch of neutral oak aging – another technique used with exquisite results by winemaker Julien Fayard.

2019 Cultivar "Gold Label" Cabernet Sauvignon

Silver Medal

2019 Cultivar Wine “Gold Label” Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast

We’re thrilled to see our most popular wine in restaurants across America become an award-winning favorite as well. Another Wine Club selection for February, our Gold Label wine is a Cabernet you can enjoy any day of the week.

How the Awards Are Judged

Each wine submitted to the competition is categorized by both varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc.) and price group. This way, red wines and white wines are judged separately, and Zinfandel doesn’t go head-to-head with Merlot. Similarly, a $100+ wine is not put in the same category as a $10 wine.

The 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition invited over 50 judges to participate this year. Many of these judges represented winemaking, wine education, and wine trade. But there were also judges from hospitality, culinary, media, and other wine & food sectors. This helped to create a greater sense of diversity and background in the judging.

“We’re thrilled with the results,” says Gingy Cable, co-founder of Cultivar Wine and Caspar Estate. “When you consider the number of wineries in the competition, and how the judges come from all facets of our industry, these awards feel like a real pat on the back. We’re proud of our whole team, and so excited to share these wines with our customers.”