Pacific Northwest
Wine Competition

The Pacific Northwest Wine Competition continued its “bigger and better” trend with the completion of its 9th annual judged event, held June 24 to 26, 2024 at Walla Walla Community College.

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A record-breaking 717 entries were received from the 146 participating wineries, which shattered the 2023 totals of 557 entries from 110 wineries.

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Judging panels awarded 194 Double Gold and 201 Gold medals during the three-day competition, with Best in Show and Best Red Wine honors going to the Tsillan Cellars 2021 Petite Sirah. 

 

The 2022 Domaine Pinot Gris from Eugene, Oregon’s King Estate Winery was named the Best White Wine, and Walla Walla’s Dama Wines earned the Best Rosé award for a 2023 Rosé of Cabernet Franc.

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TSILLAN CELLARS’ PETITE SIRAH ‘CHECKS ALL THE BOXES’

 

Tsillan Cellars, which has a rich history of sourcing its wines from estate-only vineyards in the Lake Chelan area, went outside the AVA to Red Mountain’s Heart of the Hill Vineyard for their Best in Show 2021 Petite Sirah.

 

“From 2003 to 2020, we used 100-percent estate-grown grapes,” said Dr. Bob Jankelson, who founded the winery in 2000. 

But when Jankelson turned over the winemaking program to Head Winemaker Garrett Grubbs and Assistant Winemaker/Vineyard Manager Nic Stevens in 2021, the winery ventured out to Red Mountain as an additional source.

 

“Interestingly, that area was home to the same vineyards I used in 2000, before my estate vineyards were producing,” notes Jankelson. “So, we really were revisiting the success of our early years.”

 

“It’s hard to find really good Petite Sirah grapes,” added Grubbs. “We chose an elite, best-of-the-best vineyard site in Heart of the Hill,” which is owned by the Williams Family of Kiona Winery.

 

“We wanted to make a ‘statement wine,’ something new and exciting, and that’s what drove us,” Grubbs said. 

 

“2021 was a big, warm growing year, and we took a hands-off approach in our winemaking. Even though this Petite Sirah has broader shoulders, it still has that pretty fruit, nice barrel notes, and a long finish that checks so many boxes it can handle a lot of palates.”

 

“To me, the ultimate complement to a winemaker is to say that their wine is silky,” added Jankelson. “It means that they’ve integrated the tannins, the acids, the fruit; and Garrett has that talent, whether it’s a Petite Sirah, or a Sangiovese, or a Dolcetto.”

 

Grubbs used that talent to craft not only the Best in Show wine, but another eight Double Gold and six Gold medalists in the 2024 Competition.

 

Not bad for someone who took over the lead winemaking reins at Tsillan Cellars just three years ago, and whose Petite Sirah almost didn’t make it into the competition.

 

The backstory: after General Manager, Bob Hargadon’s team packed the winery’s entries for pick-up, it was discovered that the Petite Sirah listed on the entry form wasn’t included in the box that was taken to Walla Walla. The oversight was quickly resolved, and the eventual Best in Show wine was sent in a separate delivery a few days later.

 

“We were just saving the best for last,” said Jankelson with a chuckle.

 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY AWARD WINNERS FROM THE COMPETITION

 

Newcomers to the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition performed exceptionally well. From the Woodinville/Seattle Metropolitan area, Argonne Cellars scored four Double Golds and a Gold; both Cloudlift Cellars and Page Cellars earned three Double Golds and a Gold; Samā Cellars was awarded two Double Golds and one Gold; and Structure Cellars achieved two Double Golds and three Golds.

 

Notable first-time entrants from east of the Cascades included Dayton, Washington’s Dumas Station Wines, recipient of two Double Golds and two Golds; three Double Gold medal winner Echolands Winery from Walla Walla; Yakima Valley’s Hyatt Cellars, which snagged three Double Golds and a Gold; Maryhill Winery, a five Double Gold and nine Gold medal performer; McKinley Springs Winery from Prosser, Washington, which earned a stunning five Double Golds and two Golds out of seven entries; Garden City, Idaho’s Veer Wine Project, scored a perfect four-for-four Double Golds for its four entries; and Spokane’s Winescape, received three Double Golds and five Gold medals as a new entrant to the Competition. 

 

Leading the way for returning wineries with multiple Double Gold medals included Amos Rome Vineyards and Tinte Cellars with four each; and Cougar Crest Winery, Coyote Canyon Winery, Five Star Cellars, Forgeron Cellars, Hamilton Cellars, King Estate Winery, Longship Cellars, Plumb Cellars, Three of Cups Winery, and Wit Cellars, each with three Double Golds.

 

“The breadth of wineries represented in this year’s competition was amazing,” said Dan Radil of the Whatcom Beer & Wine Foundation, which produced the event. 

 

“We had everything from ultra-boutique wineries to larger, regionally and nationally recognized wineries and many in between. This has truly become an event for any winery in the Pacific Northwest, and we’re proud to continue to represent these wineries by recognizing the great wines they’re producing.

 

We also want to give special thanks to Walla Walla Community College faculty and staff for their assistance in organizing and executing this year’s Competition, and to our outstanding judges and volunteers, who allowed us to conduct another first-class event. We’re already looking forward to our 10th Annual Competition in 2025.”