Kitá Wines took home multiple national honors at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of American wines in the world.

A record number of 5,825 entries, from more than 1,500 wineries in 25 states were entered in the prestigious four-day competition judged in San Francisco in January. Kitá Wines took home four medals and a “Best of Class” for labels in the “Classical” category for Kitá’s 2011 Camp 4 Vineyard Syrah. Gold medals were awarded to Kitá’s 2011 Sta. Rita Hills (Hilliard Bruce) Pinot Noir and 2011 Camp 4 Vineyard Reserve Syrah; and Silver medals were given to Kitá’s 2012 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara (Star Lane) Sauvignon Blanc and Kitá’s 2011 Camp 4 Vineyard Syrah.

“This recognition means everything to us,” says Tara Gomez, Kitá Wines winemaker and general manager. “Every wine we submitted received an award. It’s a huge honor.”

You can savor Kitá’s award-winning wines and other fine wines at the 2014 San Francisco Wine Competition’s Public Tasting on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. For more information, call (650) 548-6700 or log on to www.winejudging.com. Each year, wine lovers experience exciting new award-winning wines at what has become an annual tradition for many friends and families to gather and enjoy a delightful day on the Bay with amazing wines and delicious food.

About Kitá Wines:

Kitá Wines is a small, premium winery located in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley in the Santa Barbara County AVA. The word “Kitá” means “our valley oak” in the Santa Ynez Chumash native language of Samala. Like the valley oak, Kitá’s wine highlights the gifts from Mother Earth and embodies the spirit of the Santa Ynez Valley. Kitá wines are crafted using sustainable methods and a blend of old and new world winemaking techniques. All of the wines are hand harvested. Its wines are produced in small batches aiming to have minimal manipulation and maximizing varietal characteristics. Kitá Wines is owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. www.kitawines.com.

About the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians:

The tribe’s journey into wine making began in 2010 when the tribe purchased nearly 1,400 acres of land known as Camp 4 from the late actor-turned-vintner Fess Parker. Parker founded his own successful winemaking business more than a decade ago and planted 19 varietals on 256 acres. Today, you will see the Camp 4 Vineyard name on bottles from various Central Coast wineries. It’s there because it represents some of the region’s finest wines. While the Chumash tribe is one of only a handful of Native American tribes in the country to produce and sell its own wines, it is the only tribe in the country to have a Native American winemaker. The Santa Ynez Reservation is located in Santa Barbara County and was established and officially recognized by the federal government on December 27, 1901. www.santaynezchumash.org.

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