Awards come a dime a case in the wine business, but there’s certainly something special when a California winery wins top accolades in the cultural homeland of a specific grape.
That’s what Vega Vineyard & Farm just pulled off at the International Vermentino Wine Competition in Sardinia, where the Santa Ynez Valley winery’s 2024 vintage from the Los Olivos District took home a gold medal. Though the grape variety’s exact origins aren’t entirely clear, vermentino is very much the main white wine throughout much of this island off the coast of Italy, which is why they played host to this event.
Vega winemaker Steve Clifton, who pioneered modern Italian-style wines grown in California with his former brand Palmina Wines, was invited to be a judge and participant at the event. After tasting dozens of wines over the weekend, the results were posted on Monday, prompting Clifton to reach out about the news.
He tells us more details below.
How did you get invited to this event?
The director of the event, Mario Bonamici, had heard about my work with Italian varieties in California from some other friends in the wine industry. Three years ago, he and some others from the concorscio came to California and visited me at Vega
Was this your first time in Sardinia?
Yes, this was my first time in Sardinia. It has been on my bucket list for a long time.
Why is this hosted there?
The area of Gallura focuses mainly on vermentino. It is definitely the most important grape in Northern Sardinia. With a growing list of producers in Corsica, Liguria, Tuscany, and Spain, as well as in Australia, Brazil, and California, they decided to create an international celebration to bring more attention to their region and wines.
What was the event like as a judge?
The judging is restricted to growers, producers, and journalists. Everything is tasted completely blind and is strictly controlled by a group of sommeliers from a local school. We broke into groups of seven people and each group tasted through 60 entries.
Is it open to the public as well?
Only the Grand Gala is open to the public.
Vega won a gold, but how did other non-Sardinian versions fare?
Corsican wines did quite well. There was an Australian wine that won gold as well and some from Liguria and Tuscany.
Do you plan to return?
Definitely! I have fallen in love with the region and the people here. It was also one of the most educational wine events I have ever participated in and I feel I have come away with a far greater understanding of the grape.
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