 
Fourteenth Annual
"Oysters are a
celebration...romantic, sexy, luminous....
SEATTLE: In Final Judgings at the
Water Grill in Los Angeles,
Sutro’s at the Cliff House in San Francisco and
Anthony’s HomePort in Seattle, 40 prominent food and wine writers and
restaurateurs Seven California, three Oregon and two Washington wines, including nine crisp Sauvignon Blancs, two bright, refreshing Pinot Gris and one Pinot Blanc, prevailed over a record 200 entries in the first competition to judge a wine by how it goes with a food. All wines are blind tasted with Kumamoto oysters in the four-tier judging process. Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton, WA, sponsor of the competition, is pleased to congratulate the 2008 Oyster Award winners (listed alphabetically):
Amity Vineyards 06 Pinot Blanc (OR) *
Prior Oyster Award Winner
Few
wines go with oysters and their vibrant combination of minerals, sweetness
and the sea. That is why this competition identifies, on an annual basis, a group of
great “oyster wines” that restaurants can
Taylor Shellfish Farms invited British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington wineries to submit their best “oyster wines”, typically dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wines. Each wine is blind tasted with a Kumamoto oyster. The judge first smells and then chews the oyster well, then smells and tastes the wine, then rates the “bliss factor”, the wine’s affinity with the oyster. In the 8 day Preliminary Judging at Anthony’s HomePort at Shilsole Bay in Seattle, five veteran Preliminary Judges consumed 1200 Kumamoto oysters in narrowing the contenders to 44 semi-finalists and then to 20 finalists. The finalists were judged, again with oysters, by 12-14 judge panels in the three cities. Because of the number of wines that impressed the judges, two additionl “Oyster Awards” were awarded this year for a total of 12. Some of the competition judges claim they have the best job in all of food and wine. “I wait all year for this”, says long time Los Angeles judge, LA Weekly restaurant critic and 2007 Pulitzer winner, Jonathan Gold. With oysters increasingly popular nationwide, Oyster Award winners receive immediate and substantial sales benefits and publicity. Oyster lovers and restaurants serving oysters await the results. Taylor Shellfish Farms has been gratified to see oysters become part of the winery cultures at many of the winning wineries. “The search for wines to go with oysters adds to culture and excitement of oysters”, says Bill Taylor, president of Taylor Shellfish Farms. “The acclaim by the wine and restaurant industries as well as the media makes it fun for everyone.” Taylor Shellfish Farms, based in Shelton, WA, is a fourth generation, family-owned company producing manila clams, Mediterranean mussels, geoduck, and oysters for national and international markets. For information on Taylor Shellfish Farms go to www.taylorshellfishfarms.com. For further information on the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition go to www.oysterwine.com or contact Jon Rowley rowley@nwlink.com. 2008 FINALS JUDGES
Related Features:
East Coast Shellfish
Grower's Association Northwest wine picks by Oyster-wine Judge and Wine Writer Chuck Hill Register for our Newsletter/Update.  |
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have selected 12 equal winners of the prestigious “Oyster
Award” as the conclusion to the month-long, 14th Annual Pacific Coast Oyster
Wine Competition, the popular, annual dating service to find the best West
Coast wine matches for oysters. 
offer with oysters on the half
shell, an increasingly popular menu item. The Competition is organized by
its founder, Jon Rowley. 
