Southwest Wine Competition results "Excellent"

2009 Southwest Wine Competition is now complete!!! Six judges from 4 states met on June 24 and 25 to judge 146 wines from Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Here is a summary of the results from Competition Leader (and International Wine Master) Jay Bileti:


We judged 146 wines. There were an astonishing 104 medals awarded; 71% of the wines entered were recognized. There were 57 Bronze medals (39%), 39 Silver medals (27%) and 5 Gold medals (3%). These are amazing results. The judging panel was comprised of six very experienced wine judges, all of which with extensive international wine competition credentials. The panel was instructed to judge the wines in this competition on a world class scale. That is to say that we did not establish some arbitrary lesser scale to reflect a lesser growing region; the panel judged the wines on the same scale and using the same criteria they would for any world class wine. The number of medals awarded indicate that very high quality and consistent wines are being produced in the southwest.

Considering the large percentage of awards it is tempting to conclude that the judging panel was “loose” in its evaluations, or overly generous. I can assure you that is not the case. These experienced professionals studied each wine with a critical eye – the wines were simply, as a group, excellent.


The final results will be posted at the Toast of Taos website on July 1. Come to Toast of Taos to taste some award-winning wines!! The events run July 2-July 11, and tickets range from $25-$300.

Charity Auctions Stuffed with Goodies

The Toast of Taos auctions are going to be GREAT!!!

This year we have four auctions for Toast of Taos, and the featured goodies are incredible. There are complete catalogs online at http://www.toastoftaos.com/auction.html. Here are a few samples of the goodies:

Original oil painting by Ken Daggett: Ice on the Shore

Original sculpture by Steven Gootgeld: Love’s Perspective

Sterling and Rhodochrocite Bracelet by Mercedes Montoya

Case of Loring Wine Company 2007 Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard

The auctions will be held July 2 at the Sabroso Dinner, July 3 at the Lambert's Dinner, July 9 at the Stakeout Dinner, and July 11 at the El Monte Celebration. Review the auction catalogs, check out the menus, and buy your tickets at http://www.toastoftaos.com/.

Toast of Taos menus are mouthwatering

Greetings, food and wine lovers.

Several Toast of Taos restaurants have put together the menus for their dinners, including the wine pairings, and they are now posted online at http://www.toastoftaos.com/events.html. The posted menus are for:

Sabroso Restaurant, July 2
Graham's Grille Restaurant, July 2
Old Blinking Light Restaurant, July 2
Lambert's Restaurant, July 3
Stakeout Restaurant, July 9
Old Blinking Light Restaurant, July 9

Take a look, and may the drooling begin!!! Be sure to get your tickets before they sell out!