The Wine Knows

For the second consecutive year, a wine from British Columbia has won best of show at the annual Northwest Wine Summit. This year, however, the victorious wine was more "traditional."

The winner was Mission Hill Family Estate for its 2006 Select Lot Collection Riesling Icewine.

A year ago La Frenz's Merlot from British Columbia's Naramata Bench won best of show, breaking a string of Washington wines winning the top award.

The Mission Hill ice wine narrowly defeated Koenig Vineyards' 2006 Cuve Amelia Reserve Syrah from Idaho's Snake River Valley. It took the judges five votes to come down to the winner. If the Koenig wine had won, that would have been a first for the Gem State - and would have gone a long way toward helping the Northwest's smallest wine-growing region gain legitimacy.

The best-of-category winners were:

Best Red: Koenig Vineyards 2006 Cuvee Amelia Reserve Syrah, Snake River Valley

Best White: La Frenz 2007 Viognier, Okanagan Valley

Best Rosé: Harbinger Winery Lemberger Rosé, Red Mountain

Best Sparkling: Domaine Ste. Michelle 2001 Luxe, Columbia Valley

Best fortified: La Frenz NV Liqueur Muscat, Okanagan Valley

Best Ice Wine: Mission Hill Family Estate 2006 Select Lot Collection Riesling Ice Wine

Best Dessert Gray Monk Estate Winery 2006 Kerner, Okanagan Valley

Best Fruit: Sea Mist Winery NV Cranberry-Raspberry, Oregon

This is the second year in a row that La Frenz has had two wines in the best-of-show tasting.

The best-of-region winners were:

Best Washington: Tie: Northstar Winery 2004 Merlot, Columbia Valley; Reininger Winery 2005 Malbec, Walla Walla Valley

Best Oregon: Battle Creek 2006 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Best British Columbia: La Frenz 2007 Viognier, Okanagan Valley

Best Idaho: Koenig Vineyards 2006 Cuvee Amelia Reserve Syrah, Snake River Valley

Best Montana: Trapper Creek Winery NV Chokecherry Mead

Best Alaska: Alaskan Wilderness Wines NV Black Currant