Crystal Basin Cellars

renegade rag

The invite was extended last year, but a family vacation had been pre-planned. So when another invite to judge wines at the Orange County Fair Wine Competition arrived, I couldn’t say no. Here was great territory to be gained! I had never judged a competition nor helped put one on, so I was about to encounter an environment of 100% learning. My biggest fear – looking like an Idiot!

I got some coaching from another wine judge, but it turned out that the format of the judging for Orange County was different – so much for planning! Upon arrival at the judging venue, I was notified of my first day assignment – 75 PETITE SIRAHS. If that’s not pure rookie intimidation, I’m not sure what qualifies. So then – what is the format? 75 glasses around you in a circle? Where do you start?

Turns out that I’m seated at a long table with 4 other winemakers and the competition staff brings us out 4 wines at a time with a maximum of 8 wines on the table. You get a total of about 15 minutes with these wines: Color check, sniff test and then get a small mouthful and slurp some air through the wine. Spit out (most of) the wine and

Confessions of a First time Wine Competition Judge

Bistro3590 Carson Road, Suite B

Camino, CA 95709 530-303-3749

11am - 8pm daily

Winery & tasting room

3550 Carson Road Camino, CA 95709

530-647-1767 11am - 5pm daily

This is our 3rd Annual Gold Medal Shipment specially reserved for

Renegade and Ascendance

Wine Club Members. In the past, our clubbers would comment and even complain that the wines

for which we were getting Gold Medals

were gone by the time they could get

up to the winery! We fixed that with this

Optional Shipment allowing you to

choose your favorites.

Gold Medal Edition Summer 2016

try not to get any on yourself. Then – the next 8 show up! You have olives, sparkling water and some thinly cut roast beef to try to drag the purple residue off your tongue.

We sampled 48 wines before lunch – and the remaining 20-something afterwards. It may not sound like work – but try it sometime if you need a challenge! It’s not necessarily determining the quality of the wine that is difficult; the pace is the hardest element and you end up swallowing the last 1/3 of an ounce of the sample. Multiply that by 48 and you need a nap before lunch!

The second day was easy by comparison, some whacky Italian varietals, 38 Zinfandels and Gewürztraminer for dessert. One of the coolest things was that I was able to ask for information and the final awards for wines that I was interested in – both good and bad. I found that my pallet is actually pretty much on! The wines that I awarded Gold Medals to were very closely in concert with the scores that judging panel as a whole granted. Shoot – maybe I’ll get invited back next year!

gold Medal release to Club Members! Optional – so if you don’t want it – let us know!

For a charge of $60, Club Members can select three wines from the gold medal winning list (see the back of this letter) in the following format: One Ascendance Wine and Two Renegade Series Wines. The Renegade Series Wines need to be different so everybody has a crack at some variety. First to Camino gets first pick of the pile!

scalloped tomatoes With Croutons Simply Perfect Food & Wine Pairings: Salads & Vegetables

Suggested Pairing – Sangiovese or GrenacheThis dish does not destroy gorgeous summer tomatoes. The heat simply wilts them a little and makes them jucier. You can add any or all of these ingredients for a fun change: cooked crumbed Italian sausage, eggplant, cubed mozzarella cheese or zucchini.

Ingredients: 3 tbsp. olive oil 2 c. French boule/bread, 1/2” dice, crust removed 2 1/2 lb. tomatoes, any variety of good ones, cut into 1/2” dice 3 garlic cloves (about 1 tbsp.), minced 2 tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. Kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 c. basil leaves, lightly packed, chiffonade to thin slivers 1 c. Parmesan, freshly grated

Cooking Instructions: Special equipment: large, saute pan, large bowl, 6 to 8 cup baking pan

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in saute pan.

2. Add bread cubes and stir to evenly coat. Cook, tossing frequently, until toasty on all sides, about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

4. Add tomato mixture to toasted bread and cook them, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Pour into shallow baking dish and top with Parmesan.

6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and tomatoes are bubbly.

Page 2Renegade Rag – Gold Medal Edition

BadaBing – GoldEl Dorado County Fair - A Blend of 50% Zinfandel and 50% Barbera. A great foothill quaff that pairs well with Bistro cuisine and the first of our Bistro wines to be awarded a Gold medal!

Barbera – GoldAmador County Fair - This wine is from the 2014 vintage. We put it into the Amador Fair on a whim as a way of sticking our head in the lion’s mouth. Guess what? We won a Gold medal in Barbera Country Baby! Get it in this Gold Medal shipment – it will never make it to the tasting room…

Zinfandel – GoldOrange County Fair Wine Competition – Our Zins are customer favorites and the 2013 is no exception. It contains grapes from 3 different El Dorado vineyards that we’ve sourced from for many years.

Syrah – GoldEl Dorado County Fair – Our Syrah is smooth, balanced and lovely. It will benefit from another 2 or so years in the bottle if you can be patient! Soft tannins and a lively mouthfeel.

Malbec – GoldOrange County Fair AND Amador County Fair – Our Malbecs have always done nicely at competitions. The 2013 version is a big wine that begs for BBQ, but the tannins are under control, making it an excellent patio wine as well.

Petite Sirah – DOUBLE GoldEl Dorado County Fair – This wine has two amazing layers – velvety tannins are smooshed under a blueberry fruit wrap topping. Get it now! The King Fire in 2014 smoked out this vineyard – so no more until the 2015 vintage is released!

Quixote – DOUBLE GoldEl Dorado County Fair – An Uber-tasty Spanish-style blend of 60% Tempranillo and 40% Grenache. This - our newest Ascendance wine was judged worthy of a Gold medal by each member of the tasting panel and the result is a Double Gold award.

Campione – DOUBLE GoldEl Dorado County Fair – Our Super Tuscan is 80% Sangiovese with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon to provide a bass note. So good with Italian food you just might bust out singing opera at your table – Beware!

MV3 – Gold Sorry! Not Available in the Gold Medal Club Due to Limited Supply!SF Chronicle Wine Competition – In 2013, Mourvedre fruit from the Spanish Creek vineyard had the most pronounced black pepper element we’ve ever found in any wine – at CBC or anywhere!

gold & double gold Medal Winners