It can certainly be said that Champagne has a way of making people happy, or that happy people tend to drink Champagne.  Whichever comes first, we are happy that our Lucas & Lewellen Brut Sparkling Wine has earned three separate Gold Medal and Best of Class distinctions this year at the Central Coast Wine Competition, the Orange County Wine Competition, and the California State Fair Wine Competition. In addition to the Best of Class Gold, the Brut garnered a 94 point score.

The California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition is the oldest and most prestigious wine competition in North America. This year, 2,890 wine entries were received from 688 participating wineries. Seventy-two judges awarded 74 Double Gold and 268 Gold medals.

Other Lucas & Lewellen labels were recognized in these recent competitions including the Gold Medal wins of our 2009 High 9 Pinot Noir, 2009 Syrah, and 2009 Valley View Cabernet, and the 2010 Toccata Malvasia Bianca,
but the Triple Crown glory of the 2008 Lucas & Lewellen Sparkling Wine will be hard to top!

Judging panels for some of this year’s wine competitions were composed of regional and nationally known Sommeliers, winemakers, and wine writers including; Doug Frost (Master Sommelier and Master of wine), Madeline Triffon (Sommelier), Ellen Landis (Sommelier), Traci Dutton (Sommelier), Dan Berger (wine writer), and Michael Cervin (wine writer).

According to Lucas & Lewellen owner and veteran viticulturist, Louis Lucas, “We are extremely honored to receive these 3 very prestigious Best of Class awards. Our Brut is a traditional blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay grapes grown in our Los Alamos Vineyards. We have been producing sparkling wine since 2000. Our Los Alamos and Santa Maria vineyards provide the cool climate necessary to produce these exceptional wine grapes. The 2011 vintage, which will be pink, was made from 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay grapes. This sparkling will be released in March 2013. I believe a sparkling wine can be enjoyed on any occasion, including lunch and dinner!”

Owner Royce Lewellen added, “These outstanding awards signify the continuing success of Lucas & Lewellen’s excellence in product quality and winemaking capability. At our house, this is the "go to" wine for entertaining guests.  We love it, and so do our visiting friends.”