A family-owned winery in Madera recently received several top ratings in the 2024 International Wine Enthusiast competition.
Toca Madera Winery announced that it has received six 90-plus ratings from Wine Enthusiast Magazine in the competition.
The big picture: Toca Madera Winery received high marks for its 2023 Mirame Rosé, its 2021 Estate Zinfandel, its 2023 Estate Viognier-Marsanne, its 2021 Estate Tempranillo, its 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah and its 2019 Estate Reserve Tempranillo.
- Additionally, the winery also won a gold medal from the 2024 Experience Rosé competition, the largest Rosé competition in the United States.
- Toca Madera Winery was founded in 2014 by Walt Whelan and partners in Madera, off of Avenue 9.
What they’re saying: “When you set out on the adventure of starting a new winery, the thought is not about scores or awards; instead, you are focused on doing the best with what you have. Every grape growing area has challenges, and the general consensus when this venture started 10 years ago was that high quality dry wines could not be produced consistently in Madera,” said winemaker Shayne Vetter. “That gave us motivation and inspiration to change the industry’s perception. We obviously did not do it alone; others wineries in the Madera AVA are doing their part to grow our region’s reputation for fine wines, as well.”
- “Over the years, we have had several 90+ point wines. Nobody makes wine just for high scores; it’s more about passion and hard work and going the extra mile to make the best wine possible. But it sure is nice when you have the high scores, so why not brag a little? With that being said, Wine Enthusiast Magazine – a very well-respected wine publication – has awarded us with six 90+ point scores for our current wines,” he added. “The 2021 Tempranillo, 2021 Cab/Syrah, 2023 Conmigo, and 2019 Tempranillo Reserve have all been released to our wine club and they love them. I am most excited for the 2021 Zinfandel and 2023 Mirame Rosé which are soon to be released. These were two stand-outs when we did the bottling a few months ago. My hope is you can make your way out to the winery to try our amazing wines. They are putting us on the map and isn’t that a great reason to give them a taste?”
