Stanislaus-made wines rank first among California counties in this measure of quality
Stanislaus placed first in one measure of winemaking prowess in an new survey of California counties.
It was released Monday, Feb. 20, by LawnStarter, which is mainly in the yard care business but also opines about various other topics.
Stanislaus topped one of the criteria — the most total awards for wines from 2019 through 2022. This is because the competitions have categories not just for high-priced bottles but for the lower-market segments that are the county’s forte. It’s called value.
Stanislaus placed sixth overall in the survey, dragged down by its paucity of winery tours and lodgings. Napa finished first, no surprise, followed by Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
Napa shined for its sheer number of wineries and for how many gold medals it racked up in the contests. Stanislaus was third for that particular type of bling and also pulled in many silver and bronze medals.
Stanislaus leads the nation in wine volume, employing several thousand people. Most work for E.&J. Gallo Winery of Modesto or for Bronco Wine Co., south of Ceres.
San Joaquin County ranked 11th overall with LawnStarter. It takes in the premium Lodi region as well as The Wine Group near Ripon, Delicato Family Wines near Manteca, and other producers.
Merced County was 57th among the 58 counties. It grows a sizable amount of grapes, but most of the wine is bottled elsewhere.
Nearby counties in the foothill wine region include Calaveras, which placed 18th overall; Tuolumne at 36; and Mariposa at 37.
Nearby in the other direction is Alameda County, which ranked 22nd, mainly for the Livermore Valley.
LawnStarter’s other recent surveys include America’s best cities for walking dogs, eating pizza and making crafts. Last year, it declared Modesto the No. 2 city for cheese lovers, after Chicago. We got kudos for the large number of cheese plants and for contest results.
A 2021 survey on California wine counties had Stanislaus second only to Napa, mostly due to the number of awards.
The surveys are clearly not scientific. One of the measures of cheese greatness is the number of fondue restaurants in a city.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
