Competition Season

It is wine competition season at all the City and County fairs across the great, wine making state of California.  Although we prefer to simply enjoy our wines with good food and great friends, it is always fun to enter some of the bottles into the competitions.  What is life without a little feedback from those that don’t often get to enjoy our wines.  Honestly, as a former Fighter Pilot and current flight instructor, the debrief is still the most important aspect of any training or operational evolution.

This year we sent wines to the Orange County Wine Society and the Central Coast Wine Competition here in Paso.  It is always a mixed bag as we don’t know exactly who the judges are and what their palates expect.  Much like life, it is important as a winemaker and Volatus aficionado to keep perspective and have a thick skin.  Although, I would rank every one of our wines with Double or Triple Gold, that is not realistic.  When a wine does not score as well, we try to get feedback from the judging panel and process to tighten up our game. 

Hal thinks we had great results this year at both events. Our Reserve Chardonnay, the 2023 Dancing in the Moonlight ($52) received a Double Gold with 93 points at the Orange County fair.  For a project we started in 2021, looking to make a 100% French oak aged wine, it is tremendous to see the 23 doing well.  It is a delicious wine and is, honestly, Victoria’s go-to wine. We also received a solid, 91-point Gold on our new 2023 Jailbreak Graciano ($55), more on that wine in a moment.

At the Midstate Fair and its Central Coast Wine Competition, we earned five Golds including two Double Golds and a best in class.  At the Midstate Fair we normally enter more wines as it is a Paso-centric competition.