Accolades

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Marc Goldberg - Paso's Pinot Man

Napa Valley Register - June 2021

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Best of Class - 2021 Monopole

San Francisco Chronicle
Best of Class
Best of Class is awarded to only 172 out of some 5,500 entries in the competition.

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Double Gold - 2018 Monopole

San Francisco Chronicle
DOUBLE GOLD WINNER
Double Gold medals are only awarded when each judge on the panel individually issues a Gold Medal rating

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Double Gold - 2019 Eye of the Partridge

San Francisco Chronicle
DOUBLE GOLD WINNER
Double Gold medals are only awarded when each judge on the panel individually issues a Gold Medal rating

Double Gold - 2014 Monopole Pinot Noir

San Francisco Chronicle
DOUBLE GOLD WINNER
Double Gold medals are only awarded when each judge on the panel individually issues a Gold Medal rating

Double Gold - 2013 Monopole Pinot Noir

San Francisco Chronicle
DOUBLE GOLD WINNER
Double Gold medals are only awarded when each judge on the panel individually issues a Gold Medal rating

Click to buy or for more info

Gold Medal - 2018 Eye of the Partridge

Central Coast Wine Competition
Our 2018 Eye of the Partridge was awarded a GOLD MEDAL in June of 2019

Silver Medal - 2016 Monopole Pinot Noir

San Francisco Chronicle
SILVER MEDAL WINNER
Our 2016 Monopole took home a Silver Medal in the 2019 San Francisco Chronicle's Wine Competition

Silver Medal - 2017 Monopole Pinot Noir

San Francisco Chronicle
SILVER MEDAL WINNER
Our 2017 Monopole, our 25th Anniversary Vintage, took home a Silver Medal in the 2020 San Francisco Chronicle's Wine Competition

2015 Winemaker of the Year - SLO County

We were so honored for Marc Goldberg to be named the 2015 Winemaker of the Year.
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, in partnership with the San Luis Obispo Wine Country Association, the Independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles Area, The Vineyard Team and past award recipients, worked together to identify the 2015 honorees. Peers voted on each recipient upon nomination for their leadership and accomplishments in San Luis Obispo County, California’s third largest wine region.

The San Luis Obispo County Wine Industry Awards event took place on Friday, July 24, 2015

2023: Email from fans

For Christmas Eve dinner, we opened a bottle of 2010 Monopole, with a lamb shank, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. It was delicious, the wine was incredibly good.

I hesitated between that bottle and various Bordeaux crus classés from 2009-2014, I felt the aged Monopole would fit better.

Best wishes to all.

Michel and Isabelle

My husband Ryan and I (Kierdon), got married in 2013. Within a couple of years or so, We were having trouble with our relationship. After an exceptionally bad fight, I was ready to call it quits.
Somehow Ryan convinced me to get into the car with him. We had no idea where to go or what to do. We only knew that if we didn’t figure it out, we were done.
As we came into view of the vineyards, (heading toward Paso Robles) I mentioned to Ryan that all my life I had been visiting the ocean, but never stopped at a vineyard to try out the wine.
We were new to wine, and didn’t know what we liked yet. I knew I liked red wine, but other that, we had no idea about wine.
We asked the people who knew about wine what vineyards we should visit and they sent us all over the Paso Robles hills.
Eventually we were told about Windward by Hunts Cellars. We were apprehensive at first, as at that time Ryan wasn’t impressed with pinot noir.
After one tasting we were sold on Windward and that was our favorite wine.
Windward had bottles from 2013 for sale and we thought it was the best thing we’d tasted by far.
The year 2013 was special to us because that was when we got married. We’ve been returning to Windward and buying 2013 ever since.
We thank Windward for being such a beautiful, and welcoming place, where we could reconnect over some delicious wine and find ourselves.
When things get rough, we always find our way back to Windward. If it wasn’t for Windward all those years ago, Ryan and I would probably not be together.
The 2013 wine had aged so well, and had brought us back from the brink, we are truly thankful to have discovered it, and to have discovered the wonderful people at Windward. We’ve always felt welcome, like family every time we’ve visited.

2023: Email from fans

**copied with permission**

Marc and Maggie,

I just opened this, my last bottle of the wine I purchased at the winery way back In probably 2006. It is gorgeous. I am glad I misplaced it in the far reaches of my cellar to have it surface in a recent inventory I undertook. Beautiful color, dark cherries and a touch of sous bois. Open only 10 mins and fantastic - acidity and tannins held up well. I don’t recall, but I assume it was whole-cluster or at least some stem inclusion. In any event, bravo!

Visiting with the two of you was the highlight of that trip, and I hope to be able to bring my wife and daughters to visit, perhaps this Summer.

All the best,

Rick K,

2014: Email from fans

*Copied with permission*

Dear Maggie and Marc,

Almost a decade ago, perhaps longer, my partner Carrie Stein and I had the great pleasure of visiting with the two of you at your winery. It was delightful. We liked your wines (you even gave us a bottle of a rose you’d just made), and met your son, who was, at that time (if memory doesn’t fail me, as it more frequently does these days) five or six years old. I recall that Marc, perhaps Maggie, too, was a hospital administrator from Pittsburgh, 35 miles upriver from my hometown of Steubenville, Ohio.

We bought your wines for a while and then, I don’t quite know why, fell out of the habit, as our tastes tended to gravitate more to European wines. Over the years, however, we’d occasionally take a bottle of your pinot noir from our stash and enjoy it.

Then, last night, we found the last bottle of Windward Vineyard pinot noir we owned, a 10th Anniversary 2002 Monopole, and had it with a chicken I’d rotisseried on a charcoal grill. We probably hadn’t had a bottle of Windward pinot for three or four years.

It was just fabulous — the best California pinot noir I’ve ever tasted. It had gone pale with age, and was loaded with the kind of elegant, mouth-coating fruit that young wines just can’t muster, and had a remaining twinge of the acid that probably allowed all that fruit to develop over all that time. Bravo, you two.

It made us wonder how you were doing after all these years. Once again we were delighted, this time to find, in checking your web site, that you seem to be going strong still.

I think there is a connection between wine and time, I don’t just mean cellaring potential. That bottle of the 2002, and our memories of the two of you and our long ago visit, combined to make last night a special evening for us. Thank you.

Very best of everything,

James Ricci
Carrie Stein

Gold Medal: Windward Vineyard 2012 Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
The San Francisco Chronicle is the largest competition of American wines.

(2013) GOLD MEDAL: Windward Vineyard 2008 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition
We were pleased to received GOLD MEDAL recognition at this year's Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition for the 2008 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir out of 898 entries from 15 countries. For more details visit: sommelierchallenge.com.

Silver Medal: Windward Vineyard 2013 Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

(2013) 93 Points: Windward Vineyard 2006 Monopole Pinot Noir

International Wine Review

(2013) 92 points: Windward Vineyard 2007 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

International Wine Review

(2013) 91 points: Windward Vineyard 2008 Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by International Wine Review

(2013) Silver Medal: Windward Vineyard 2010 Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

(2013) Silver Medal: Windward Vineyard 2010 Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by Central Coast Wine Competition

(2012) GOLD MEDAL: Windward Vineyard 2006 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by San Francisco International Wine Competition
Windward Vineyard's 2006 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir was awarded a GOLD MEDAL at the 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition!

The SFIWC is the largest and most prestigious wine judging of it's type in North America. The 2012 competition was the biggest ever, with more than 4,500 wines from 29 countries and 26 states!

This amazing vintage sold out within days of the award's announcement.

For a complete listing of the wines entered & awards given at this year's competition, visit: http://www.sfwinecomp.com/results.html

(2012) Marc & Maggie Honored as 2011 Wine Industry Persons of the Year

What happens in the wine industry when passion, persistence and a love of Pinot Noir blend? You get Marc Goldberg and Maggie D’Ambrosia, honored as the 2011 Paso Robles Wine Industry Persons of the Year. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance presented this award at the organization’s Annual Gala, held Friday evening (January 20,2012) at the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom. Marc and Maggie shared an enthusiasm for Pinot Noir, but their true passion culminated when Marc swept Maggie off her feet over a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 1959. It wasn’t until 1989, after Marc and Maggie moved across the country to accommodate their thriving careers as hospital administrators, did they buy what was then a barley farm on the westside of Paso Robles Wine Country. Marc’s longtime dream of running a winery after retirement finally began.

Marc and Maggie discovered that Paso Robles had the ideal terroir after tasting a bottle of 1976 Hoffman Mountain Ranch Pinot Noir. They were inspired by the legendary enologist Andre Tchelistcheff, who, along with Doctor Stan Hoffman, had identified the ideal microclimate of Paso Robles’ Templeton Gap as possessing superlative conditions to grow Burgundian style Pinot Noir.

Kenneth Volk graciously offered his winery Wild Horse Vineyard & Winery to Marc and Maggie to produce their first two vintages (1993 and 1994) until they could purchase the needed equipment to operate on their own. Marc, now paying it forward, is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge with other young winemakers who are just starting in the industry.

Marc and Maggie are involved in every aspect of the winery, from vineyard to bottle, in the true Burgundian model of a “monopole!” Marc refers to himself as the “wine shepherd,” believing that Windward Vineyard is the true winemaker. When Marc is not in the vineyard or the cellar, you will find both Marc and Maggie in the tasting room, extending family-like hospitality to all guests who enter. Maggie’s mom, Agnes D’Ambrosia, welcomes guests as well with homemade biscotti and pitzelle. Marc and Maggie also have four wonderful children - Susan, Karen, Leslie and Justin - who inspire Marc and Maggie to live their passion each day.

Beyond their work at Windward Vineyard, Marc and Maggie are active members in the community. Every year in June, they produce the Paso Pinot & Paella Festival, gifting 100 percent of the proceeds back into the community. Pinot & Paella has grown into a sell-out event featuring more than 20 Paso Robles Pinot Noirs and 20 local chefs. Additionally, Pinot & Paella raises upwards of $15,000, which is donated to organizations like the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation.

Marc and Maggie are huge promoters of both Pinot Noir, as well as the Paso Robles AVA. Now, with over 21 years in operation, Marc and Maggie are just as passionate as they were with their first vintage … and as Marc likes to say, “And NOW we’re finally old enough to drink it!”

(2012) Silver Medal: Windward Vineyard 2007 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
The 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition reviewed over 800 wines this year, and the 2007 Windward Vineyard Gold "Barrel Select" Pinot Noir was awarded a SIlver Medal in the group of "Pinot Noirs $50.00 & Over". We are proud to represent Paso Robles as the only Pinot Noir selected from the Paso Robles Appelation to receive this award!

The "Gold" bottling consists of only 10 selected barrels that represent only 2 of the 4 Pinot Noir Clones that are planted in the vineyard. These 2 clones, from the Vosne-Romanee area of Burgundy are more intense producers and therefore the '07 Gold is a more masculine and "bigger mouthful" wine than the Windward '07 Monopole Pinot Noir.
300 Cases Produced.

(2012) GOLD MEDAL: Windward Vineyard 2007 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by Appellation America
Appellation America, the online publication at the cutting edge of recognizing defining characteristics of different wine growing areas, and whose purpose is to promote the “Appellation-ization” of North American Wine Regions, has announced the recipients of their “Best-of-Appellation Awards”.

Windward Vineyard’s 2007 Barrel Select Gold received Gold Medal Standing for expressing the characteristics of the Paso Robles AVA,& being a testament to quality wine craftsmanship in the region.

Owner & Winemaker Marc Goldberg is honored to receive this recognition for the 2007 Vintage, as well as for Windward Vineyard’s contribution to building the identity & reputation of the Paso Robles Appellation as an ideal Pinot Noir Wine growing region.

(2011) GOLD MEDAL: Windward Vineyard 2008 Estate Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by 9th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout in San Francisco

(2011) Bronze Medal: Windward Vineyard 2007 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by Central Coast Wine Competition
This year, almost 600 Central Coast wines were entered into the MidState Fair's Central Coast Wine Competition, and Windward Vineyard's 2007 Barrel Select Gold was awarded a Bronze Medal. We are proud to showcase this wine now, but know that it will continue to improve with each year of aging.

(2011) Bronze Medal: Windward Vineyard 2007 Barrel Select Gold Pinot Noir

Awarded by Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition
The 2007 Barrel Select Gold was awarded a Bronze medal at the 2011 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition. This wine will continue to improve with age, up to 20 years like a great French Burgundy.

(2010) Windward Vineyard 1994 Estate Monopole Pinot Noir Takes Third Place in San Francisco Vintner's Club Blind Tasting, at 15 years old!

The recent Blind Tasting, #1482, by the prestigious San Francisco Vintners Club was held at the Villa Taverna in San Francisco on September the 22nd of 2009. It was designed to compare and rate 7 Grand Cru and Premium Cru Burgundies and 3, "Burgundian Styled" California Pinot Noirs in a Blind Tasting of the 1994 Vintage. The results were published this past week and Rick Waterman, President of the Vintners Club called me with congratulations on Windward Vineyard's 1994 entry which received a Third Place out of the 10 Fifteen year old wines tasted.

I was especially delighted to see that Robert Groffier's Les Sentiers, Chambolle-Musigny was the first place selection as it has been a favorite of mine and drinking beautifully over the past several years. Josh Jensen's 2nd place Selleck Vineyard, Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir also brought joy to Windward Vineyard's staff as Josh, (the author of "The Heartbreak Grape") was a hero of mine and one of the guiding forces in the creation of my early Vision to produce a Great, American, Burgundian Styled and Traditional Pinot Noir.

Here's a listing of the wines that were tasted and the place that resulted from the scores that were compiled by Rick Waterman and his wife Lalita.

1. Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers,Primier Cru, Groffier
2. Calera, Selleck Vineyard, Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir, San Benito
3. Windward Vineyard, Monopole Pinot Noir Paso Robles
4. ZD Library Selection Pinot Noir, Carneros
5. Echezeaux, Grand Cru, Jean Bizot
6. Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Champeaux, Premier Cru, Dom. Laurent
7. Vosne-Romanee, "Les Suchots", Premier Cru, Dom. Laurent
8. Gevrey-Chambertin, "Les Fontenys", Premier Cru, Joseph Roty
9. Gevrey-Chambertin, Lavaux St. Jacques, Premier Cru, Claude Dugat
10. Chambertin, Clos de Beze, Grand Cru, Pierre Damoy

In Pinot Veritas,

Marc Goldberg

(2009) GOLD MEDAL: Windward Vineyard 2006 Estate Monopole Pinot Noir

Awarded by Appellation America
Appellation America, the online publication at the cutting edge of recognizing defining characteristics of different wine growing areas, and whose purpose is to promote the “Appellation-ization” of North American Wine Regions, has announced the recipients of their “Best-of-Appellation Awards”

Windward Vineyard’s 2006 Monopole Pinot Noir & 2006 “Gold” Barrel Select have both received Gold Medal Standing for expressing the characteristics of the Paso Robles AVA,& being a testament to quality wine craftsmanship in the region.

Owner & Winemaker Marc Goldberg is honored to receive this recognition for the 2006 Vintage, as well as for Windward Vineyard’s contribution to building the identity & reputation of the Paso Robles Appellation as an ideal Pinot Noir Wine growing region.

(2008) Windward Vineyard named Winery of the Year at 2008 Central Coast Wine Classic

Windward Vineyard was the honoree at the Central Coast Wine Classic for 18 years of dedication to Pinot Noir. This was a first for Paso Robles Pinot Noir in the 24 year history of the event. The incredible 2006 Vintage of Windward Vineyard Pinot Noir, was selected for the Hearst Castle Award Dinner attended by over 300 international guests.