SILVER STONE WINES TEMPRANILLO WINS TOP HONORS AT THE 2007 LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS COMPETITION

Dan Kleck, owner/winemaker at Silver Stone Wines in Paso Robles, California, only wishes he had more of his 2004 Tempranillo, which won Best Wine of the Competition at the 2007 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. “It sold out almost instantly,” Kleck commented. “We’ve gotten tremendous mileage out of the competition.”

Many buyers know the wine won an award and they’re impressed, he added. “The [Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits] competition has a respected panel of international judges who make their decisions based strictly on flavor. The Tempranillo is not a mainstream wine. It’s a varietal from Spain, so the fact that it turned heads has made buyers aware that there’s more than just chocolate and vanilla out there.”

This is the first time he attempted this varietal, Kleck admitted, noting that the grape is well-suited to Paso Robles when it might not do well in other locations. “Over time we noticed that it tasted better and better in the barrels; by the time we won the competition, we were already two-thirds of the way through the run.”

Kleck has cut the number of competitions he enters to key ones that offer the best promotional opportunities. The marketing value from the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition and the support it received from the Ralphs Grocery chain, which featured winning wines its stores and advertised the winners in the Los Angeles Times, had a “tremendous impact,” said Kleck. Local restaurants soon picked up the award-winning Tempranillo, making it available by the glass. “This cemented the brand for us.”