Sky’s the Limit: Small Georgia Winery Wins Double Gold
To stand out within the wine industry, especially for those just starting out, wineries not only have to be excellent, but they must offer something unique as well. The Double Gold award is seen as an exceptionally prestigious award within this scenario, since Blue Cielo Farms is not only new in the game, but also considered a small winery.
About the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition1
The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is the largest wine competition in the world that focuses on North American wines. The competition has been running for over two decades, and during this time their appreciation for different wines, different people, and different processes, has only grown fonder. The competition is the best in the nation, and soon, it might even be considered the best in the world.
Wine competitions play a crucial role in the wine industry. They create awareness of wines amongst consumers and provide winemakers with the opportunity to showcase their skills. Furthermore, competitions increase the standards within the wine industry, since new benchmarks are constantly set.
During the evaluation of a wine within a wine competition, both the quality and characteristics of the wine are taken into consideration. Judges look at whether the expertise and skill of the winemaker is portrayed within the wine, and also look at the unique qualities that the wine has to offer.
The panel of judges for the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition consisted of more than 48 professionals who came from various fields, including trade, education, retail, media, and hospitality. Blue Cielo Farms competed against 5500+ wines from more than 1000 wineries across North America, and beat the odds by being awarded the prestigious Double Gold award.
The Winning Wine
The winning wine, Dry Pond White, consists of its own unique story.
In 2019, with the help of University of Georgia, fifty Carlos Muscadine vines were planted by hand by this husband and wife team. By 2022, these fifty vines produced a modest 200 pounds of grapes. David LaCasse then turned these grapes into approximately 37 liters of wine at Blue Cielo Farms.
Larger wineries typically produce ~1000’s of liters of wines; however, Blue Cielo Farms only had a garage sized space to create their wine in. Nevertheless, Dry Pond White still stood out at the competition and earned its Double Gold. At the moment, only 40 bottles of this award-winning wine remain in existence.
About The Winemaker
Blue Cielo Farms’2 quickly earned acclaim can be attributed to David LaCasse, their up-and-coming winemaker. After working in construction for over a decade, he decided to pursue a career in wine. David earned his Level II Sommelier certification and proceeded to work for one of the largest wineries in the Southeast. He spent two years working under the guidance of seasoned winemakers and learning the wine making process, and thereafter joined Blue Cielo Farms to help with every aspect of getting this business up and running.
David’s expertise includes everything from wine production, vineyard planting and maintenance, and tasting room construction. His passion, attention to detail, knowledge, and hard work have been a pivotal part of opening Blue Cielo Farms to the public. "I'd like to thank Blue Cielo Farms for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity of being their winemaker. With my winemaking knowledge and the support of an incredible ownership team, we came together and won Double Gold at the SF Chronicle Wine Competition", said David LaCasse.
Contact Details:
Cassandra Wiseman
Blue Cielo Farms
+1 678-778-5214
info@bluecielofarms.com
1 https://winejudging.com/
2 https://bluecielofarms.com/
