Lodi captures Best of Show and numerous Golds at State Fair, what happens in wine competitions and age-old thoughts on wine appreciation

Blind tasting of Lodi reds.

A Lodi wine is named #1

First, this just in: The 2025 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition just announced that this year’s “Best of Show Red” is the 2023 St. Amant Winery Barbera, which happens to come from Lodi’s Jahant appellation. It is hard to achieve something as lofty as this—chosen as the best red wine out of thousands of others entered into a wine fair that happens to be the oldest (ongoing since 1854!) and perhaps most prestigious in the country.

Barbera, as it were, is a grape that yields wines of very high acidity, far higher than almost all other black skinned varieties, but in Lodi’s sun soaked environment this acidity finds just the right amount of balance with the grape’s varietal fruit character. That is, when grown in Lodi, the typically high acid of the grape has a way of embellishing the fruit profile of Barbera, rather than taking over with a sharp, palate-prickling tartness.

It is not the first time a Lodi wine has taken a Best of Show prize. When judges make their choice, of course, they have no idea where a wine is grown. All competitions are conducted “blind”—the identity of brands is not revealed to anyone until after results are announced.

Close-up of old vine Lodi Barbera, dating back to the mid-1970s.

I recently had a disagreement with another wine journalist about the results of wine competitions. My point was simple: That the results of wine competitions—that is, the awarding of gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as “Best of Show” and “Best of Class” recognitions, common to most American wine judgings—are largely random. A combination of chance and qualifications.

The other wine professional disagreed, basically saying: “In good competitions, the results are always valid.” By “good,” he meant to say competitions in which all the judges are extremely competent, and the organizers are conscientious about making sure the judging process is as fair, controlled and objective as possible. Fair enough.

We are both right. Wine competitions do, indeed, give recognition to excellence. The 2023 St. Amant Barbera is a case in point. It is a phenomenal wine. Fact of the matter, though, is St. Amant Winery produces extraordinary Barbera in practically every vintage. Vintners often make note of the fact that in some years they believe their wine is better than those of most years, yet those bottlings do not garner nearly as much acclaim as the other vintages. Go figure.

St. Amant Winery owner/winemaker Stuart Spencer in old vine Lodi Barbera block.

In the end, it does not matter why or how. All that matters is this year’s State Fair judges declared St. Amant’s Barbera to be the best red wine in California; and, make no mistake, purely on the basis of its sensory qualities. From that perspective, this was not “random.” It is a reflection of Lodi’s natural “sense of place”—or what the French call terroir—in which a grape such as Barbera grows exceedingly well, and a winemaker’s job is (as often said in the industry) “not to screw it up.”

Yet, as a professional who has sat through numerous wine competitions (both big multi-day affairs and small regional ones) over the past 30 or so years, I can say this: In panels consisting of some of the best and most respected wine judges in the business, it is extremely rare that wine judges actually agree with each other. Yet somehow, consensus is found, winners reap awards.

What happens in wine competitions

Here is what actually occurs in wine judgings: Panels consisting of 3 to 5 judges are given rounds of, typically, 10 or 12 different wines—it could be a group of Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, Cabernet Sauvignons, Zinfandels or even Barbera—and we are asked to evaluate them on the basis of whether they deserve medals. 

Fred Swan, who teaches Wine Hospitality at Stockton's Delta College as well as the Lodi Wine Visitor Center.

The blind tasting process has to go fast. Judges are expected to assess anywhere from 60 to over 100 wines a day, and if you go too slow you’ll be sitting at a table ’til the sun goes down, and you’ll miss your “judges’ dinner” (which is usually a grand affair, involving a lot of socializing and camaraderie—the very reason why many professional judges do these events).

In a panel of, say, 5 judges, 2 of them might say one wine deserves a gold medal, whereas 2 judges might say the same wine deserves no more than a silver or bronze, while one judge may say the wine deserves no medal at all. This is reality, typifying the types of disagreement repeated over and over again, throughout the day.

So how is it, you may ask, that many competitions end up with what are called “Double Gold’ winners; that is, when one wine is deemed a gold medal winner by an entire panel of judges? First, this rarely happens. Second, what actually happens is that there is still, virtually 100% of the time, disagreement within any given panel. 

Maybe three or four of the judges may think a wine deserves a gold medal, which in a panel of 5 represents a majority opinion. When this happens, the judges who believe a wine deserves a gold will prevail upon the contrarian judges to change their opinion. Quite often, this involves a little gentle browbeating; and if that doesn’t work, a little bit of “trading” (example: “if you change your score from a silver to gold for this wine, I will change my score from a silver to a gold for another wine that you like”). That is how you end up with the rare occurrence of a “Double Gold” winner. It happens; just not the way you think.

Prestigious Golden Bear trophy awarded to the best of the best wines at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition; in this photo, a 2015 trophy garnered by Lodi's Oak Farm Albariño for a Best of Show White.

The bottom line, though, is that all wine judges, no matter how experienced or impeccably qualified, evaluate wines on the basis of highly personal objectives and perspectives on what constitutes “quality.” This is to be expected because this is exactly how wine is appreciated. It is always subjective—a matter of personal taste tantamount to our prerogatives as human beings, not preprogrammed machines.

In the end, the results of each competition are, in fact, valid for each respective group of judges. But given the exact same wines, other groups of judges are not just more likely to come up with different results, differentiations are actually 100% guaranteed. Only because no two judges evaluate wine in the same way—a factor compounded when there are over 50 or as many as 100 judges involved in a competition.

Why wine appreciation never changes

Professional wine judges, in that sense, are absolutely no different from any wine consumer, whether brand new to wine enthusiasm or cultivated by years and years of experience. I was recently rereading a 1976 book by Robert Gorman entitled Gorman on California Premium Wine. I find that sifting through old books—in this case, one dating back to an exciting era when California wines were just beginning to take over markets across the country, in many cases displacing European imports in terms of consumer perceptions of wine “quality”—to be insightful because they tell you how much wine appreciation has changed, or not changed, over the years.

Gorman, for lack of a better way of putting it, was what might be described as a wine crazy amateur aficionado of the grape (crazy enough to write a popular book!), typical of the times. In fact, he reveled in the fact that he was not a wine industry professional. He states that, in his view, it is amateurs who appreciate wine with the most passion, and with just as much attention to detail. That is why I still find his book so interesting: Back in the '60s and '70s most Americans were just beginning to get into wine, and actual professionals were far and between. It was wine lovers such as Gorman who drove the country's original modern day wine “boom.”

Hence, in his chapter on “Reflections on on Wine Tasting,” Gorman makes note of what we’ve always known in the business—that appreciation of wine is a highly personal, and conscious, journey, which he explains in this fashion:

Most of us recognize that some sort of analysis of our wine experience is necessary and inevitable. Almost any person who enjoys good table wine is aware that there are three “stages” in tasting and enjoying wine: Visual examination of color and clarity, smelling the aroma and bouquet of the wine, and finally, the actual tasting of the wine on the palate.

These are the three “first principles” of tasting and enjoying wine, recognized almost universally by experienced wine drinkers. It is a major step in the right direction to have analyzed one’s sensations of wine at least to that extent and to have made it a habit to take conscious notice of the three when one tastes or drink wine.

Beyond this point, it is not easy to find universal agreement among writers connoisseurs when they further analyze sensory experiences of wine.

Visiting wine influencers focusing on the taste of Lodi wine.

It is also interesting that Gorman wrestles with the usefulness of the “language” of wine; something both amateur and professional wine lovers still do today. The question being, is being “conversant” in wine analysis necessary, or should wine appreciation be simplified or reduced down to feelings or emotions rather than intellectual analysis? This, of course, is something every consumer decides on his or her own.

Gorman, on the other hand, writes from the perspective of practicality. That is, what makes more sense if you want to increase your enjoyment of wines—especially finer wines (these days, wine selling for $28 and up), to which more and more consumers are gravitating? He writes:

Unfortunately, the language of sensory analysis which the amateur finds in literature on wine tasting seems at first like so much nonsense and verbiage which he has great difficulty connecting with personal wine experience. The willing amateur is lost in a jungle of words.

Bottlings of Lodi Zinfandel at a Zinfandel Advocates & Producers tasting in San Francisco.

This may be true, but the amateur should understand that wine is a complex matter which demands a special vocabulary. Ordinary wines do not inspire much comment, but there is always a great deal to say about a very fine wine. 

Wine quality fixes quality factors in one’s mind so that they can be analyzed, described and discussed intelligently. One can share one’s impressions of a wine with others. A wine drinker is not at the mercy of his or her purely subjective, hedonistic assessments. Being conversant in the language of wine, a person can buy wine more intelligently, simply because he can articulate his preferences and tastes to a knowledgeable merchant.

I would add, wine lovers conversant in wine terminology can also better articulate their preferences to themselves, which is the most important thing of all. It is no different than becoming adept at identifying the books you love to read most, the music you most prefer, the movies, fashions, tech or even cars that give you the most pleasure.

As Socrates said long ago, “Know thyself.” If you want to better understand your personal taste and enjoy wine all the more, it helps to be able to talk about it. Or not talk about it... whatever floats you boat!

Round of red wines judged at California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Andrew Nixon, Capital Public Radio.

Lodi gold medal winners, 2025 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition

The following is a list of other Gold and Double Gold wines produced by Lodi wineries, awarded by the 2025 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. By category:

Albariño
2024 Harney Lane – Gold

Cabernet Franc
2022 Inkblot (by Michael David) – Double Gold, Best of California
2021 Oak Farm Vineyards – Gold

Chardonnay
2023 LangeTwins Family Winery – Gold
2023 Freakshow (by Michael David) – Double Gold
2023 Michael David – Double Gold
2024 Peltier Green – Gold

Fiano
2024 Oak Farm Vineyards – Double Gold, Best of Region White; Best of California

Grenache Blanc
2024 Klinker Brick Winery Under The Sea – Gold

Malbec
2020 Scotto Family Cellars – Gold

Petite Petit
2022 Freakshow (by Michael David) – 87% Petite Sirah/13% Petit Verdot – Double Gold

Petit Verdot
2021 Oak Farm Vineyards – Double Gold
2022 Inkblot (by Michael David) – Gold

Tasting room at Michael David Winery, known for its perennial gold and double gold winning wines.

Pinot Grigio
2023 Peltier Green – Gold

Primitivo
2021 Wilson Family Winery – Gold

Red Blend
2022 Peirano Estate Vineyards Winemaker’s Selection – Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Tempranillo – Double Gold

Rhone Red Varietal Blend
2023 Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards Christina’s Outlier – 62% Grenache noir 62%/16% Syrah/16% Mourvèdre/3% Bourboulenc/3% Clairette blanche – Double Gold, Best of California

Rosé Blend
2024 Oak Farm Vineyards Rosé – Grenache/Primitivo/Barbera/Syrah/Sangiovese;/Mourvèdre – Double Gold
2024 Michael David Rosé – Gold

Sauvignon Blanc
2024 Oak Farm Vineyards – Double Gold
2024 Peltier Winery & Vineyards – Gold

Sangiovese
2023 Macchia Amorous – Double Gold, Best of California

Syrah
2022 Klinker Brick Winery Farrah – Gold

Tempranillo
2022 Harney Lane – Gold

Vermentino
2023 m2 – Double Gold

Zinfandel
2022 Earthquake (by Michael David) – Double Gold, Best of California
2020 Scotto Family Cellars – Gold
2022 Jessie’s Grove Winery Royal Tee – Gold
2021 Lust (by Michael David) – Gold

Zinfandel Rosé
2024 Mikami Vineyards – Gold 

Young Lodi wine lover.