aka, The Big Red Smackdown
8 members competed to see who could pick the best Big Red wine under $60. Each contestant brought one bottle of their favorite Big Red under $60 as their entry in the competition. The winner’s prize would be an invitation to join the Wine Committee, if he/she wanted to.
In this tasting, “bigness” was included in the scoring in addition to the usual characteristics of finish, flavor, bouquet, color, etc. David Gibson led a discussion of what “bigness” meant, and that included a very dark purple color that may temporarily stain your teeth.
It was a very close competition with 5 of the wines in a narrow range, each receiving between 80-85 points. In the end, the 2019 T-Vine Petite Sirah, Frediani Vineyard, was the winner.
As an aside, this may have been the first time that the pre-tasting included both a $60 wine with a screwcap and hobby wine with a wax seal, and they were both excellent.
| Rank | Points | Wine | Price | Bot |
| 1 | 80 | Steve Shank 2019 T-Vine Petite Sirah, Frediani Vineyard, Napa Valley | Winery $55 | 2 |
| 2 | 82 | Bob Simoni 2018 Tobin James Big Shot, a Paso Robles Rhone Style blend 52% Syrah, 36% Grenache, 8% Mourvedre and 4% Counoise | Winery $58 | 4 |
| 3 | 82 | Ed Coyne 2019 Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel 90% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah | Total Wine $37.99 | 3 |
| 4 | 84 | Steve Smith 2020 Aperture “Soil Series” Alexander Valley Bordeaux Blend 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Malbec, 28% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc | Jackson’s $59.99 | 5 |
| 5 | 85 | Indra Obeysekere 2019 Asuncion Ridge “3 Sum” Blend of Cabernet-Syrah-Zinfandel blend | Winery $45 | 1 |
| 6 | 93 | John Henry Beyer 2019 Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon | Wine.com $27 | 8 |
| 7 | 95 | David Gibson 2020 Clos Erasmus “Laurel” Priorat From Southwestern Catalunia, blend Garnacha, Syrah and Cabernet | K&L $59.99 | 7 |
| 8 | 119 | Rick Taylor 2020 Domaine les Pallières “Terrasse du Diable” Gigondas Southern Rhone blend 90% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Clairette. | Wine.com $34.99 | 6 |
Many thought that the pre-tasting wines were equal to the tasting wines. They were:
- 2019 T-Vine Charbono, Calistoga, Frediani Vineyard $50.00
- 2017 Fighting Gully Road Syrah, Beechworth Victoria $59.99 (screwtop)
- 2018 Ramazzotti Cabernet Franc, Estate Grown, Pigoni Ranch, Alexander Valley $58.00
- 2016 Dead End Cabernet Sauvignon, Krooss Family Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley (Priceless, made by a friend)
Il Davide Restaurant was a great venue with excellent food and service.
Here are the individual votes:
| Rank | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Total Points | 85 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 119 | 95 | 93 |
| Your Name | Bot 1 | Bot 2 | Bot 3 | Bot 4 | Bot 5 | Bot 6 | Bot 7 | Bot 8 |
| Indra | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Laura | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Richie Rich | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 |
| Suzi Mills | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Phyllis | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Christopher Wood II | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Bob | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Steve Shank | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Chris Wood (Dad) | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Marjie | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Sue Beyer | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Lisa | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Diane Delucchi | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Ed | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| John Henry | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Sandy | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Betty. Hood-Gibson | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Rick | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| David Gibson | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Smith | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
Cellar Society of San Francisco 