(PD) - Forty wines won Best of Class in the 2015 Sonoma County Harvest Fair Wine Competition, according to results released today.

There were 315 wines that won gold medals and, of those, 89 received Double Gold distinction, which means they received unanimous “gold” votes from their panel of judges.

The Best of Class winners in the red, white, sparkling and specialty categories range from family-owned wineries, like Balletto Vineyards, to corporate-owned conglomerates, such as Constellation Brands’ Clos du Bois winery in Geyserville. They all reveal the strength of Sonoma County’s appellations, with the lion’s share from grapes groomed in the Russian River, Alexander and Dry Creek valleys.

The top 10 wineries that reeled in the most gold-level awards were: Matrix Winery, 10; Mazzocco Winery, 10; Wilson Winery, 10; Pezzi King, nine; Soda Rock Winery, nine; Mayo Family Winery, seven; St. Anne’s Crossing Winery, seven; Benziger Family Winery, six; Davis Family Vineyards, six; and DeLoach Vineyards, six.

In this top 10 grouping, comprising 80 gold-medal wines, 55 were produced by wineries owned by vintners Ken and Diane Wilson. The Sonoma County wineries include Wilson, Matrix, Mazzocco, Pezzi King, Soda Rock and St. Anne’s Crossing.

But the most prestigious sweepstakes winners are still under wraps. Those three awards — for best white, red and specialty wines — will be drawn from the pool of 40 Best of Class wines and will be announced at the Harvest Awards Night Gala on Sept. 27.

There were 1,189 award-winning wines, given in the categories of Best of Class, Gold, Silver and Bronze. A total of 629 silver and 205 bronze medals were awarded. Among 1,254 entries, only 65 wines received no award. To search our database of award winners, click here.

Christopher Sawyer, a judge and founder of SawyerSomm.com, said the wines showed so well because they hail from strong Sonoma County vintages — 2012, 2013 and 2014.

“There were some stunners in there,” Sawyer said. “They were tasty across the board. … The rosés were so beautiful and dry. The white wines were aromatic with natural acidity, brightness and freshness. The red wines had deep cherry and blackberry notes.”

Several judges noticed an uptick in quality; they said this year the rosés were dry and vibrant, the zinfandels seemed less manipulated, the chardonnays were less oaky, and the petite sirahs had tamed tannins.