Wine might not be an Olympic sport (yet!), but we sure know how to medal in it! We’re excited to announce our latest round of wine medals from the World Wine Championships—including a Gold medal for one of our premium reds!
Let’s hear it for Activist! Our 2016 Activist Private Reserve, Santa Barbara County Syrah, received Gold recognition from the World Wine Championships, a rating defined as an Exceptional buy. 2016 Activist, a 100% Syrah, is a red to reckon with, serving up a spicy kick and a refined elegance.
Syrah is a wine varietal that enjoys two very distinct styles based on growing conditions. In general, the Syrah grown in a hot sunny climate produces a dense, fiercely concentrated red wine loaded with spicy meaty notes. Syrah cultivated in climates with cooler nights and less balmy conditions is much more elegant and refined with mineral and graphite notes underneath a blanket of ripe black fruits. Our Activist is the latter style of wine with vibrant aromas, a touch of mineral, and notes of sleek blackberry and blueberry fruits.
Grown in Paradise Vineyard, Santa Barbara County, the fruit for this wine was ripened under sunny skies and then nicely cooled at night thanks to the Pacific Ocean influence. This year’s Paradise Vineyard Syrah was hand-picked over a two-day period to ensure uniform ripeness and quality.
The marriage of fruit and complexity give this wine a significant edge when it comes to food pairings, making it a complement to everything from charcuterie to grilled tuna. Trust us, this one will have you raising your glass more than once! Discover our Sommology pairings for Activist, and pick up a bottle or two for a special night.
More Medal Winners from Traveling Vineyard
We have four wines that received a Silver recognition at the World Wine Championships recently, making them Highly Recommended choices. Enhance these Silver sippers with the right foods, and you’re golden. Your Traveling Vineyard Wine Guide can help! Let us know if you’re ready to Host your own wine tasting with a few of our award-winning wines this winter. Want to shop more award winners? We got you.
About the World Wine Championships
Each month, Tastings—a review service by the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI)—offers a wine review/competition based on a specific wine category for U.S. wines, such as U.S. Chardonnay or U.S. Pinot Noir & Pinot Gris Aromatic Whites, as well as World categories defined by country, from France to New Zealand and every growing region in between.
When those categories match up with one of our current varietals, we jump at the chance to submit our wines for review and competition. BTI has been reviewing wines for more than 35 years and providing objective ratings and reviews that serve as a useful benchmark for consumers of wine, beer and spirits. We’re proud to consistently earn a medal rating for our wines!