A record 200 wines vied to compete in the 2008 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, which begins next week. The field has been whittled down to 20, and tasting events will be held next week in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to determine the winners.
The annual "dating service" for wines and oysters is sponsored by Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton, Wash., and organized by the competition's founder, Jon Rowley of Jon Rowley & Associates of Seattle.
Panels of 12 prominent oyster-loving writers, restaurateurs, retailers and oyster growers will convene at the Water Grill in Los Angeles on April 22, at Sutro's at the Cliff House in San Francisco on April 23 and at Anthony's Homeport at Shilshole in Seattle on April 24 to select the 10 best West Coast wines to serve with oysters.
Wineries from British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington were invited to submit entries. Five judges consumed 1,800 oysters earlier this month to narrow the field to 40 wines, which were then re-tasted to select 20 finalists.
Typically the best "oyster wines" are dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wines. Wines are tasted blind with Kumamoto oysters. Without smelling the wine first, judges taste the oyster, then smell and sip the wine and then rate the "bliss factor," the wine's affinity with the oyster. Judging scores from the three cities will be combined to determine the 10 equal winners of the coveted "Oyster Award." Winners will be announced April 28 at www.oysterwine.com.
"The search for wines to go with oysters adds to the excitement and culture of oysters," says Taylor Shellfish Farms President Bill Taylor. "The acclaim by the wine and restaurant industries as well as the media makes the competition lots of fun for everyone."
