READ THE FULL FEATURE → BEST OF CALIFORNIA
The official magazine of the 2026 California state fair
July 2026, by Lisa Landry
The official magazine of the 2026 California State Fair tells the story behind our 2025 Grenache Blanc, the 99-point wine named Best of Show White. Writer Lisa Landry talks with our founder and co-owner, Sue Tipton, about learning of the win and her first thought: finding our winemaker, Christina Lopez. The profile traces this wine back to the first white grapes we planted in 2008, and to our regenerative farming and focus on white Rhône varietals.
Our 2025 Grenache Blanc reveals layers of white peach, pear, honeysuckle and subtle minerality, with richness balanced by freshness and a long, elegant finish. "It's the kind of wine that makes you slow down," Sue says. Behind the bottle is a team effort led by Christina, our winemaker and vineyard manager, whom Sue describes as having "an extraordinary palate and a quiet, methodical brilliance." Christina took on vineyard management two years ago and has helped guide our regenerative farming program.
"It's validation of a path we chose when almost no one else was walking it."
The California State Fair is the nation's oldest wine competition, dating to 1854, and Lodi wineries earned 182 medals this year, compared with 54 for Napa Valley. "We farm regeneratively, and that's not a marketing term for us; it's a genuine commitment to the health of the soil, the ecosystem, and the long-term future of this land," Sue says.
READ THE FULL FEATURE
Best of California magazine
profiles Sue Tipton and the 2025 Grenache Blanc, a 99-point Best of Show White at the 2026 California State Fair.
