The finalists for the seventh annual Sunset Western Wine Awards were were announced earlier this month and two of the 32 of the West’s best winemakers are Chamber members and are now one step closer to receiving the highest honor in Western wine.

Clayhouse Wines' 2010 "Adobe Pink" was on the list of finalists, and Treana & Hope Family Wines' label Liberty School saw it's 2009 Chardonnay on the list of finalists. 

The finalists will be celebrated and the winners revealed exclusively on Sept. 30 at the Sunset Western Wine Awards Gala, one of the most highly anticipated events at Sunset Savor the Central Coast, an extraordinary food and wine event that will be held throughout San Luis Obispo County, from Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.

At this festive dinner and awards ceremony, emceed by Emmy-winning TV and radio personality, Liam Mayclem, attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to be the first to discover the winners of the Western Wine Awards while sipping the West’s best wines and rubbing shoulders with acclaimed winemakers and Sunset editors.

Category winners will be announced throughout the evening as attendees enjoy locally grown fare paired with wines from the 32 finalists. Tickets to the Western Wine Awards Gala, which will be held on the historic Pismo Beach Pier in Pismo Beach, California, are $85 and are available at www.SavorCentralCoast.com.

“Sunset's awards program has become a one-of-a-kind vetting of Western wines,” said Sara Schneider, Sunset wine editor. “We ask our judges to dig deep and think about all the wines they’ve tasted in the last year or so that represent the best in the West. We’re so excited to be able to invite the public to join us at the Western Wine Awards Gala, so that they can taste these fantastic wines in such a grand setting.”

The Western Wine Awards finalists are selected by Sunset’s panel of professional judges, which includes Western wine writers, sommeliers, and wine instructors, who nominate wines they have tasted in the past year in a variety of categories. Categories include:
•    Steal ($15 and under)
•    Good Value ($16 to $25)
•    Connoisseur ($26 to $40)
•    Special Occasion ($41 to $60)
•    Deep Pocket (everything over $60)

The winners in each category are selected by the judges during a blind tasting at Sunset’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. This year, more than 500 nominated wines were tasted before narrowing the field to the 32 finalists, which represent wine regions that span the 13 Western states, from New Mexico to Oregon, Washington to California. A full list of the finalists and judges can be found here.

In addition to the wine categories, which are determined by the judging panel, Sunset editors will select the winners of Sommelier of the Year; Winemaker of the Year; Lifetime Achievement Award; Best New Wine Bar of the Year; and Winery Tasting Room of the Year.

The Western Wine Awards winners will be featured in the November issue of Sunset magazine, the premier guide to the West.

For tickets or more information on Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast 2011, please visit www.SavorCentralCoast.com. Tickets are also available at Farm Supply outlets.