Since 2018, Bill has been honored to serve as a judge at the annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – one of the world’s preeminent and most prestigious wine judging events of American vintages. The competition takes place in Cloverdale, just a few short miles away from WGWinery’s northern Alexander Valley vineyard. In recent years, on an annual basis nearly 7,000 wines have been tasted, compared and ranked by panels of expert judges – between three and five to a team (about 60 overall) – that include a winemaker, a wine educator, a wine trade representative, a wine writer/wine media professional, and a culinary and/or tourism professional. In general, teams utilize the “West Coast Style” of professional wine judging – an elaborate and detailed method in which they first blind taste the wines, and then must agree on awards as a panel through discussions led by a professional coordinator.
For a first-hand, behind-the-scenes account of the 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, check out this excellent article penned by one of Bill’s fellow judges: https://www.sacmag.com/magazine/food-drink/no-glamour-in-wine-judging/
