(PD) - Family-owned wineries — both large and small — won the coveted sweepstakes awards Sunday at the Sonoma County Harvest Awards Gala.

Boutique wineries J. Rickards Winery of Cloverdale and Russian River Vineyards of Forestville won top honors for the white and the red respectively, with the J. Rickards 2015 Croft Vineyard, Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc, at $22, and the Russian River Vineyards 2014 Horse Ridge Vineyard, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, at $65. Sonoma Valley’s Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards, the large sparkling wine house founded by the Ferrer family of Spain, snagged the specialty wine award with its Gloria Ferrer 2007 Royal Cuvee Carneros Sparkling Wine at $39.

More than 500 gathered at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Sunday night, each paying between $75 to $125, to end the suspense of the Harvest Fair’s wine competition. The event recognized the Sonoma County champions, the industry’s best winemaking and culinary efforts.

“I’m anxious,” Madeline Kelley Stewart, wine club manager of Kelley & Young, said at the reception before the awards were announced. “I want to know. This year we won best of class for our rose so we’re up for the sweepstakes and it’s very exciting to see my family come this far. Either way it’s a great compliment to be awarded best of class.”

Kelley Stewart and others were grazing on award-winning dishes that included a pasta entrée from Santa Rosa’s Gaia’s Garden, Lamb Kabobs from Oliver’s market, and the Fresh Summer Roll from Thai Time Asian Bistro.