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Whalehaven Winery was both the Professional Judges and the People’s Choice Judges winner as Best of Show at the 5th Annual International Cabernet Franc Wine Competition in the “International Division”. The International Division was for wines outside of the USA. Of the eight categories, this is one of three where both sets of judges selected the same Best of Show! This was for their 2016 vintage.
California, United States – 19 August 2024
The 5th Annual Cabernet Franc Wine Competition was held on April 3rd, 2024 at the Copper Valley Golf Club Clubhouse. The format for the blind competition utilizes the Danish system, where the wines are “bagged and tagged with coded numbers”. There were four tables of wine judges (2 tables of Professional Judges and 2 tables People’s Choice Judges) voting on medal designation, Best of Category, Best of Show and Grand Sweepstakes. If not all agree on the medal, which seldom happens, then a lively discussion going over the key characteristics of the specific wine is debated to reach a consensus award by each group of judges.
In total there were 8 classifications by region or Cabernet Franc wine designation. The Regional awards were broken down by: Eastern, Central, Northwest, Southwest, California and International. For California there were five price point categories. There were also two additional categories for Specialty Cabernet Franc Blanc, sparkling, Rose, etc. and Blends having a minimum of 50% Cabernet Franc grapes. In total 91 wines entered the competition. The event started at 9:15 am and went non-stop, concluding at 2:30 pm with a luncheon for the judges and volunteers.
International Division:
Best of Show: Whalehaven Winery located in the city of Somerset West in South Africa won the International Division.
“First on the eyes a deep dark brick red in coloring and medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, bell pepper (pyrazines) greet the olfactory senses. On the palate, tobacco and a dusty minerality (similar to the famous Napa Rutherford dust) combine with tart cranberries and ripe red cherries filling the mouth. On the finish this dry and acidic Cabernet Franc has bold tannins claiming rightful attention of the imbiber. The wine has a 14% alcohol level. The price is R225 or roughly $12.25 in South Africa. Figure roughly between 3 to 4 times that price here in the USA for export taxes, importation taxes, transportation and distribution.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon”