Taylor Shellfish Farms is pleased to announce the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition 2012 "Oyster Award" Winners!
After three tiers of judging wines (101 entered) with oysters, 10 West Coast wines (5 California, 3 Washington and 2 Oregon) have been selected as equal winners of the prestigious 2012 "Oyster Award" awarded to wines judged best mates for oysters. Wines were judged blind with Kumamoto oysters. Judges chew the oyster well, smell and taste the wine and then look for a clean, crisp finish that doesn't get in the way of the next oyster. We call it the "bliss factor".
Final judgings were held April 24 at the Water Grill in Los Angeles, April 25 at Kuleto's in San Francisco and April 26 at Anthony's HomePort in Seattle. Scores from the 25 judges...top food and wine experts ...in the three cities were combined to select the 2012 winners.
"Not many wines work with oysters," says Lane Hoss, Vice President of Marketing for Anthony's Restaurants. "That is why we are thankful to have this competition. Oysters are popular. We wait for the results every year."
The Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition is sponsored by Taylor Shellfish Farms and organized by founder Jon Rowley, Jon Rowley & Associates in Seattle.
"The search for the best wines to go with oysters adds to the excitement and culture of oysters," says Taylor's Bill Taylor. "The acclaim by the wine and restaurant industries as well as the media makes it fun for everyone."
Taylor Shellfish Farms is a fifth generation family-owned company producing Manila clams, Mediterranean mussels, geoduck and oysters for national and international markets.
Competition Schedule
- March 28th: Deadline for Entries
- March 29th-April 4th: Preliminary Judging at Anthony's Home Port at Shilshole Bay
- April 5th: Finalists Notified
- April 24th: Los Angeles Final Judging, WaterGrill
- April 25th: San Francisco Final Judging, Kuletos
- April 26th: Seattle Final Judging, Anthony's Homeport at Shilshole Bay
- April 30th: "Oyster Award" Winners are announced
"Oysters are a celebration...romantic, sexy, luminous...The right wine makes them even more so." Sheila Lukins
As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.
A Moveable Feast , Ernest Hemingway
For information on the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, contact Jon Rowley at 206.963.5959 or rowley@nwlink.com
