Entering the North Coast Wine Challenge certainly paid off for Balletto Vineyards this year. The Santa Rosa winery took home three Best of Class awards, four double gold medals and one gold medal for its Russian River Valley wines, including a 2019 Sparkling Brut Rosé, a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 and 2022 Pinot Noirs, a 2021 Sexton Hill Vineyard Chardonnay and a 2023 Teresa’s Chardonnay.
It was stiff competition as a record 1,147 entries flooded in from Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, Mendocino and parts of Solano counties. And that made the victory all the more important for the family-owned winery, which has participated in the competition since it launched 13 years ago.
“We’ve been part of the (North Coast Wine Challenge) since day one,” said John Balletto, who, together with his wife Terri Balletto, owns and operates the 180-acre vineyard, winery and hospitality center on Occidental Road, and owns more than 700 acres of additional prime vineyard land in Sonoma County. “Supporting our local community and celebrating the incredible talent in Northern California has always been at the heart of what we do,” he added.
Wine lovers will have the opportunity to taste Balletto’s winning wines, along with dozens of other medal-winning wines, at the North Coast Wine & Food Festival, held June 14 at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.
The wines will be served with food from 20 of the region’s top chefs, including Marc-Henri Jean-Baptiste, chef-owner of Maison Porcella. This is the third year Jean-Baptiste has been invited to the festival, and he plans to showcase his new catering and charcuterie programs at the June event.
“The North Coast Wine & Food Festival celebrates our region’s true bounty and brings together people who genuinely appreciate quality, craftsmanship, and creativity,” he said. “Donating my time and food is a natural way to give back to the community that inspires my daily work.”
Building relationships
At the North Coast Wine Challenge, which took place April 1-2, panels of judges blind tasted and assessed flights of wines over the course of one day. They knew the category of each flight that they tasted — Pinot Noir, for example — but not any of the individual wines.
After each flight, the judges cast their votes — gold, silver, bronze or no medal — and, since there are often divergent opinions, the experts discussed the wines and negotiated. A wine that received a gold medal vote from every judge on a panel was awarded a double gold.
Competing for the third time this year, Petaluma’s Brooks Note Winery won a double gold for its 2023 Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir, as well as a gold for its 2024 Pinot Blanc from Mendocino County.
“I love that (the North Coast Wine Challenge) is local,” Brooks Note owner Garry Brooks said. “We’ll definitely pour our 2023 Petaluma Gap Pinot and the 2024 Pinot Blanc (at the North Coast Wine & Food Festival) — and there’s sometimes an under-the-table offering for people who love what we do.”
Entering the competition is an investment for wineries, from the $85 entry fee (per wine) to shipping costs to donating wines to pour at the festival.
“While the ROI (return on investment) isn’t easy to measure in numbers, the real return comes in the form of connections,” said John Balletto. “From warm feedback from friends and colleagues to new faces in our tasting room, events like this are about building relationships and sharing our story.”
For Brooks Note, which produces just 2,500 cases per year, donating the wine and time is worth it.
“I think the ROI is a bit more anecdotal,” Brooks said. “We love it when someone places an order, but it’s just as valuable to introduce people to our wines who haven’t tried them before. As a newer, small producer, it can take a couple of years for people to recognize us. Sometimes, showing up a few years in a row (at the competition and festival) is how we make that happen.”
The North Coast Wine & Food Festival usually sells out — purchasing tickets in advance guarantees your spot. VIP tickets provide early entry — one hour before general admission. A portion of ticket sales will benefit local nonprofit Ceres Community Project.