PRESS RELEASE (pdf) SoCal Wines Shine, "Down Under" Scores, and
Bold, Exotic Spirits Triumph at 2025 Competition San Diego (Feb. 4, 2025) -- The 2025 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge held its 43rd meeting in San Diego over the weekend of January 25-26. Once again it was a celebration of the best that the beverage world has to offer. Here's a look at this year's top performers.  For the first time in 43 years, a San Diego County winery has taken Domestic Winery of the Year honors. Fallbrook's Monserate Vineyards and Winery first planted in 2017 on a former golf course property with a focus on Italian varieties. The wines entered by winemaker Justin Mund show a vineyard coming into its sweet spot, scoring big with Sagrantino, Falanghina, Negroamaro and Aglianico. From further north, the Ledson 2021 Cepage "Estate Vineyard" Sonoma Valley took Domestic Wine of the Year accolades, landing the high score of the competition at 97 points. Chief Wine Judge Michael Franz had this to say: “the quality of the components and skill in the cellar have resulted in a wine of very high sophistication on a very big frame." Back down south, Riverside County's Temecula Valley AVA had a banner year at the competition, with great showings by Miramonte and Robert Renzoni wineries.
Wakefield (known as Taylors in its Australian homeland) was once again named Import Winery of the Year and also walked away with the Import Wine of the Year prize, with its 2022 St. Andrews Shiraz scoring big atop a list of remarkable Wakefield wines. Our Wine Company of the Year, Trinchero Family Wines, showed off their value-driven lineup, and Pernod-Ricard Winemakers landed the Import Company of the Year prize with their worldwide portfolio. On the spirits front, Garrison Brothers of Texas took Brown Spirit of the Year accolades for their latest release of "Guadalupe" Bourbon Whiskey – a bold high-proof affair finished in port casks. And score one for one the world's most consumed alcoholic beverages, Baijiu, with the Tashi Baijiu grabbing the White Spirit of the Year award. The Distillery of the Year honor was nabbed by Larado Whiskey (formerly Lasso) for a fine set of Colorado Rye and Wheat whiskies. Other top performers include a fine high-proof Blanco Tequila from Alto Canto and a spot-on Rye from Nevada's Minden Mill. Consumers - you’ll find complete results for wine and spirits, as well as full reviews of all of our platinum winners, by clicking here. Special thanks to all of our entrants. The high quality of your products makes our workload light, and we look forward to showcasing your best again in 2026 at the 44th San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge. Cheers! Rich Cook, Competition Director +1 760-522-3167 SDWineCompetition@yahoo.com |
