The Great Wine Challenge

Our editor, Doc Lawrence, was chosen by rising star winery Yonah Mountain Vineyards to serve as a member of a panel of distinguished judges for the Great Wine Challenge on January 15, 2011. This remarkable event, described by Doc as "daring and visionary," actually takes the wines from Yonah and puts them in the taste arena with some of America's most prestigous and expensive wines.

Joe Smith, Yonah Mountain's winemaker described this inaugural event as "pairing three of our wines from two vintages and pairing them against Ghost Horse Cabernet Sauvignon at $250 dollars per bottle, our Chardonnay versus Kittler Dutton Ranch at $90 dollars per bottle and our Viognier against Darioush which sells for $43 dollars per bottle."

Calling this a variation on a theme of "David and Goliath," Doc Lawrence praised Yonah Mountain and Joe Smith for "thinking and acting way outside the box. This is a very serious operation here at Yonah Mountain. They deserve a chorus of praise from the summit of the imposing namesake mountain."

Other judges include Michael Bryan, founder and president of the Atlanta Wine School, legendary Jane Garvey, one of America's top wine authorities and Gil Kuylers, wine columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.