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Thirty wines of the 1,900 entries were awarded this distinction.
Winemaker Mark Burch believes that this 2010 vintage Sauvignon Blanc is one of his best.
Since becoming the winemaker at Wildhurst in 1997, Burch has garnered a major Sauvignon Blanc award 10 times.
The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc wine was produced and bottled at Wildhurst Winery and came from Holdenried Vineyards, Vincent Price Vineyards in Kelseyville and Bill Oldham Vineyards in Upper Lake.
“This is a very fitting award as part of our 20 year anniversary celebration of the founding of Wildhurst Winery.” states owner Myron Holdenried. “The list of award winning wines over the past 20 years validates the consistent quality of Wildhurst wine and Mark‘s attention to detail in winemaking. These awards also show that Lake County does compete favorably with any wine grape growing region. ”
Holdenried, a fifth generation farmer in Kelseyville, noted some of the history of Lake County’s wine grape industry.
“Before Prohibition, Lake County had thousands of acres of grapes and at least 28 wineries,” he said. “With the onset of Prohibition, the vineyards were abandoned, and pear or walnut orchards were planted on the same ground. Over the past two decades, there has been the reverse action. The pears and walnuts have been pulled out, and grapes have been planted. in their place. In 1966, we stepped out of the pear box, and planted our first winegrape vineyard on former pasture land.”
After selling grapes to Parducci, Fetzer and Jess Jackson for many years and just being part of the “blend,” Myron and Marilyn Holdenried believed there was a need for more recognition of Lake County wines.
In January 1991, they joined forces with four Collin Brothers with farm backgrounds from Fresno, and took the plunge to start a new Lake County winery.
This was an opportunity to become part of the growing Wine Country industry and market.
“We hired a young woman winemaker, Kathy Redman from South Africa, who would work under the tutelage of Jed Steele,” Marilyn Holdenried said.
“We leased the Lower Lake Winery from the Stuermer family,” she said. “After five years, we decided to relocate the winery and tasting room to Kelseyville. The IOOF Hall in Kelseyville, owned by the Borghesani family, was available and we were willing to renovate the downstairs area for a Retail Visitor Center. It made sense to be in a location which already had existing events, a festival, and a marketing more strategy.”
Myron Holdenried added, “In 1997, Mark Burch, who was working at Kendall Jackson winery in Lakeport, entered the picture and took over making our wine. He was very passionate about the quality potential of Lake County grapes, especially Sauvignon Blanc. He believed that there were great opportunities for our products.”
The Holdenrieds constructed a winery cellar on Benson Lane, north of Kelseyville, on the location of their pear packing facility in 1998.
The original cold storage building used by the Holdenrieds for their packing operation is now the official permanent barrel and case storage facility for Wildhurst. The pear packing facility was closed in 2005.
Under the committed direction of Burch and assistant, Banyon Kirkendall, Wildhurst now produces wines for other custom clients as well as their other labels of Mackinaw and Plunkett Creek.
“Mark and Banyon work many long hours getting the best out of the grape,” Myron Holdenried said.
The couple said that in the past 20 years they have been fortunate to have had very dedicated and innovative employees who have contributed significantly to the Wildhurst success.
“With great creativity, energy, and hard work, the staff has put on some amazing events and parties,” they said. “Here is a toast to the next 20 years!”
