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37 TOP WEST COAST FOOD AND WINE EXPERTS BESTOW
PRESTIGIOUS OYSTER AWARD ON 10 WEST COAST WINERIES
"Oysters are a celebration...romantic, sexy, luminous...
The right wine makes them even more so." Sheila Lukins
SEATTLE: 37 top West Coast food and wine experts convened at the Water Grill in Los Angeles, Sutro’s at the Cliff House in San Francisco, and Anthony’s HomePort at Shilshole Bay in Seattle to select 4 crisp sauvignon blancs, 4 lively, refreshing pinot gris and 2 oyster-friendly blends as equal winners of the month-long 2011 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition—the popular annual dating service to find the best West Coast wine matches for oysters. Few wines go with oysters, a vibrant combination of minerals, sweetness and the sea. That is why restaurants serving oysters and oyster lovers are eager to learn which wines will receive the prestigious 2011 "Oyster Award", a framed golden oyster medallion.
Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton, Washington, sponsor of the Competition, invited West Coast wineries to submit their best "oyster wines", typically dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wines. The competition is organized and produced by its founder Jon Rowley. Each wine is blind-tasted with at least one Kumamoto oyster. The judge chews the oyster well, sips the wine and rates the "bliss factor." "It’s more about the oyster than the wine," says Rowley. "The wine should exalt the next oyster by not getting in the way. We are looking for a crisp wine with a clean finish."
In a week-long Preliminary Judging in Anthony’s HomePort at Shilshole Bay in Seattle, five veteran Preliminary Judges consumed over 1200 "Kumos" in narrowing the contenders to 20 finalists. Scores from the 37 judges in the three-city final judging panels were combined to determine the 2011 "Oyster Award" winners.
Taylor Shellfish Farms is pleased to announce and congratulate the 2011 "Oyster Award" recipients (listed alphabetically):
*Brassfield Estate Winery 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Cadaretta 2010 SBS (WA)
**Chateau Ste. Michelle 2009 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc (WA)
*Hogue Cellars 2009 Pinot Grigio (WA)
**King Estate Signature Collection 2009 Pinot Gris (OR)
**Kunde Family Estate 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Pine Ridge Vineyards 2010 Chenin Blanc + Viognier (CA)
**Robledo Family Winery 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Three Pears 2010 Pinot Grigio (CA)
*Van Duzer Vineyards 2010 Estate Pinot Gris (OR)
*Prior "Oyster Award" winner.
**Multiple prior "Oyster Awards"
With oysters on the half shell enjoying increasing nationwide popularity, "Oyster Award" winners receive immediate and substantial sales benefits. Oyster Award-winning wines enhance a restaurant's oyster culture. Servers are quick to recommend wines that exalt the oyster experience. The right wine makes all the difference. "The search for wines to go with oysters adds to the excitement of and culture of oysters", says Taylor Shellfish Farms President, Bill Taylor.
Some of the judges claim they have the best job in all of food and wine. "I wait all year for this", says long-time Los Angeles judge, LA Weekly restaurant critic and 2007 Pulitzer winner, Jonathan Gold.
Taylor Shellfish Farms, based in Shelton, WA is a fifth generation, family-owned company
producing manila clams, Mediterranean mussels, geoduck, oysters and shellfish seed for national and international markets.
For technical data on the wines, pricing, case production or other information about the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, visit www.oysterwine.com or contact Jon Rowley rowley@nwlink.com 206-963-5959
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Jon Rowley & Associates (206) 963-5959 www.oysterwine.com
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