Original story on Mercury News
By Mary Orlin
And the winner is: Awards season is here -- and we're not talking Golden Globes or Oscars. Wineries in the East Bay, South Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains scored big time, earning more than 200 medals at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the biggest wine competition in North America. A record-breaking 7,162 wines were submitted from across the country. Livermore Valley scooped up some 120 medals, followed by the Santa Cruz Mountains with nearly 80 awards and Santa Clara Valley wineries garnered nearly 50 medals.
Want to try these award-winning wines? Fort Mason Center will host a public tasting from 1:30-5 p.m. Feb. 13. Find the winners list and public tasting tickets ($70-$95) at www.winejudging.com.
Somm School: The San Francisco Wine School has been offering classes since 2011, preparing folks for certification exams and careers in wine. Now the wine school has a new South San Francisco home -- and it's a big one.
The new Wine Education Center, a 4,000-square-foot complex, is the country's largest wine education facility. Founder and master sommelier David Glancy has uncorked new programs and seminars and recruited more sommelier instructors to help people break into the wine industry or advance their wine careers. Details: 415 Grand Ave., Suite 301, South San Francisco; find a schedule of classes at www.sanfranciscowineschool.com.
Check out our full schedule of programs, workshops and public events. Private, customized experiences and corporate training is also available.
