The Wine Knows - competitions

Wither Gewürztraminer?

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:12:52 -0400

Once upon a time, Gewürztraminer was a grape variety of some importance in Washington. Part of this was the thinking that Washington is so far north of California that it would require cool-climate varieties to be viable.

These days, we all realize the folly of that thinking, with the Columbia Valley's general lack of rain along with the long, hot summer days.

Yet I still love a good Gewürztraminer, and Washington continues to make a fair amount. In 2007, it was the No. 4 white wine grape with 4,100 tons harvested.

Washington State Wine Competition this weekend

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:32:46 -0400

Beginning Friday, judges from throughout the state will begin gathering in Yakima for the annual Washington State Wine Competition. This must be around the 23rd annual.

This is the only judging that looks exclusively at Washington wines, and the competition typically receives 350 entries. Not comprehensive, but it does provide a solid snapshot of the industry.

Riesling judging brings out best in winemakers

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:40:06 -0400

We have put the Summer issue of Wine Press Northwest to bed, and I'd like to get into a little more detail on our Riesling judging. One of the remarkable trends to come out of our blind tasting of 116 Northwest Rieslings was that those wineries whose focus is on Riesling rose to the top.

Lack of corked wines in Riesling judging

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:03:06 -0400

During our judging Saturday of 116 Pacific Northwest Rieslings, we had just one corked wine. In fact, the far bigger problem was oxidation.

One might see this as a good trend that we found just one wine infected with TCA, the compound that makes a wine smell like a wet dog sleeping on rotting cardboard in a musty basement.

NW wineries fare well at Riverside judging

Mon, 05 May 2008 23:54:53 -0400

On Sunday, I posted an item about Ste. Michelle's 07 Dry Riesling winning best white wine at the annual Riverside International Wine Competition, run by Dan Berger, an international wine judge, writer, author and columnist for Wine Press Northwest.

Ste. Michelle wasn't the only Northwest winery to do well amid the 2,500 entries.

Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling tops Riverside judging

Sun, 04 May 2008 22:46:53 -0400

Chateau Ste. Michelle not only makes the most Riesling in the world - but it also produces some of the finest. This was proven once again this afternoon in Southern California.

Ste. Michelle's 2007 Dry Riesling won the sweepstakes award for best white wine of the Riverside International Wine Competition, which concluded this afternoon.

And the winner is ...

Fri, 02 May 2008 19:03:39 -0400

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.

NW Wine Summit drawing to a close

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:38:25 -0400

We're wrapping up the superlative rounds for the massive Northwest Wine Summit competition at Timberline Lodge on Oregon's Mount Hood.

Some 20 judges have been tasting through more than 1,150 wines since Sunday afternoon. This is, by far, the largest and most important wine competition in the Pacific Northwest.

NW Wine Summit under way

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:37:24 -0400

The Wine Press Northwest crew is up on Mount Hood for the annual Northwest Wine Summit, the largest judging of Pacific Northwest wines.

This year, we have nearly 1,200 entries, a big increase over last year's 1,060. Judges the South and Pacific Northwest began judging after lunch today and will continue through Tuesday afternoon.

Walter Dacon Wines the real deal

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:28:06 -0400

At Saturday night's Capital Food & Wine Fest* in Lacey, Wash., Walter Dacon Wines of nearby Shelton won best in show for its 2006 C'est Syrah Beaux.

This is no fluke.

Samples

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:26:46 -0500

Tom Wark over on Fermentation does an occasional post interviewing various wine bloggers. He asks the same questions to each blogger, so it's interesting to see their answers ("Prius or BMW?" "Chablis or California Chardonnay?").

One question whose answer interests me is, "Do you accept samples for review?" Many bloggers do not, it appears, but that's because they might have special interests and do not review wines.

Thoughts on judging Pinot Noir

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:07:27 -0500

Today, we concluded our judging of Pinot Noirs. We tasted through 133 Pinots from Oregon, Washington and Idaho. We plan to do a separate tasting of B.C. Pinots in the Okanagan, as it is nearly impossible to get samples across the border anymore.

Tasting Pinot Noir

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:10:38 -0500

Wine Press Northwest is tasting 133 Northwest Pinot Noirs today and Saturday. In the magazine's 10-year history, this is our third "big Pinot tasting" - and some of these Pinots are big.

Said one judge after the second flight: "Some of these folks sure aren't shy with the alcohols."

Fascinating inside look at the wine industry

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:05:11 -0500

Earlier this month at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Wine Press Northwest Managing Editor Eric Degerman caught up with Wilfred Wong. Now, you might not know Wilfred - or even heard of him - but he is one of the country's leading experts on wine. And he shared a fair bit of information that could interest you.

Winners of annual Ray's Boathouse Retrospective

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:44:57 -0500

in Seattle has released the results of its 21st annual Retrospective wine competition, in which it judges more than 450 wines from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. The event was held last week.