Calaveras Visitor’s Bureau Brings Home Gold!

Calaveras Brings Home Gold and Best Experience Awards at California State Fair
—by Lisa Mayo

Sacramento, CA…Calaveras County was awarded Gold for their booth at the 2009 California State Fair. In addition, Calaveras County also received the Best Experience Award which is awarded to the booth that best engages fairgoers to experience the county. “This is a huge win for Calaveras and gives all those fairgoers very real reasons to take the short drive to visit Calaveras County,” said Lisa Mayo, Executive Director of the Calaveras Visitors Bureau. The Awards Ceremony, which took place Friday afternoon at Cal Expo, was attended by Calaveras County Supervisors Gary Tofanelli and Russ Thomas as well as a number of volunteers and Calaveras Visitors Bureau staff who helped make the booth happen….

This year’s state fair theme is “Weird, Wild and Wacky.” “We know we have some weird, wild and wacky things to share about Calaveras County but we wanted to do it tastefully so we focused on our wild side – things like the Pioneer’s Cabin Tree at Calaveras Big Trees State Park, our wild rivers, wild adventures and wildlife,” stated Mayo. Throwing in some wacky Calaveras-only experiences, like Twisted Oak’s Rubber Chicken National Forest was in keeping with this year’s State Fair theme.

Creating and building a booth for the State Fair is a major undertaking. This was the first year the Calaveras Visitors Bureau had sole responsibility for this project. With the help of State Fair veteran, Anna Davies of the Calaveras Winegrape Alliance and booth builder, Richard Bay, the exhibit is a true representation of all the attributes of Calaveras County. Mayo and niece, Chloe Crawford of Avery gave a presentation to the judges. The booth is judged on content, marketability, craftsmanship, creative use of products, produce and/or artifacts and technology and/or animation, special effects and experience.

Calaveras Wineries Win Big!

Bodega del Sur
Cabernet Sauvignon Gold 95 Calaveras County 2007 Best of Class Sierra Foothills Appellations
Sangiovese Gold 94 Sierra Foothills 2006

Black Sheep Vintners
Sauvignon Blanc Bronze 87 California 2008
Zinfandel Bronze 86 Calaveras County 2005

Chatom Vineyards
Semillon Gold 94 Estate Bottled, Calaveras County Best of Class Sierra Foothills Appellations
Cabernet Sauvignon Silver 92 Estate Bottled, Calaveras County 2005
She Wines Silver 89 Calaveras County 2005

Frog’s Tooth Vineyards
Pinot Grigio Silver 91 Sierra Foothills 2008
Tempranillo Silver 91 Sierra Foothills 2006
Meritage Bronze 86 Calaveras County 2006

Ironstone Vineyards
Xpression Rosé Gold 94 California 2008
Best of Class California State Appellation
Cabernet Franc Reserve 4th Generation Family Growers Silver 90 Estate Bottled, Sierra Foothills 2006
Zinfandel Reserve Old Vine 4th Generation Family Growers Silver 89 Rous Vineyard, Lodi 2007
Zinfandel Old Vine Silver 89 Lodi 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Silver 88 California
Zinfandel Reserve Old Vine 4th Generation Family Growers Silver 88 Deaver Vineyard, Amador County 2007
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Bronze 86 Estate Bottled, Sierra Foothills 2006

Laraine Winery
Sangiovese Gold 94 Gerber Vineyard, Sierra Foothills 2006
Syrah Silver 89 Gerber Vineyards, Sierra Foothills 2005

Milliaire Winery
Zinfandel Port Clockspring Vineyard Selection Gold 94 Sierra Foothills 2005
Zinfandel Gold 94 Clockspring, Amador County 2006
Zinfandel Heritage Old Vine, Vineyard Selections Silver 91 Ghirardelli, Calaveras County 2005
Zinfandel Old Vine Vineyard Selection Silver 91 Calaveras County 2005
Petite Sirah Vineyard Selection Silver 89 Eagle’s Nest, Lodi 2007
Syrah Vineyard Selection Bronze 86 Sierra Foothills 2005

Renner Winery
Syrah Silver 91 Calaveras County 2005

Twisted Oak Winery
Petite Sirah Double Gold 98 Calaveras County 2006 Best of Class (TIE) Sierra Foothills Appellations
*%#&@! Silver 91 Calaveras County 2006 Best of Class Sierra Foothills Appellations
Ruben’s Blend Silver 89 Sierra Foothills 2007
Syrah Bronze 86 Tanner Vineyard, Calaveras County 2005

Zucca Mountain Vineyards
Barbera Silver 90 Cooper Ranches, Amador County 2007
Sangiovese Silver 89 Rocky Hill Vineyard, Calaveras County 2007

Nominate your favorite chef!

We will be featuring a new featured chef each month. Please let us know who you think we should feature in the next Chef’s corner by responding in the blog below.