Great Northwest Wine
March 23,2017

This year’s Cascadia Wine Competition included judges from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia as well as Sheri Sauter Morano, a Master of Wine from North Carolina, and New Orleans broadcaster/journalist Tim McNally.

“The ultimate test of whether a regional wine competition is relevant to the industry and to consumers comes down to the quality of the wines,” McNally said. “What we just experienced in judging this competition was an amazing presentation, across the board, of just under 1,000 wines from every sector of the entire area.”

The panel awarded gold medals at a rate of 24 percent for the Cascadia, a record clip for the five-year-old event, and this marked the first time that a Walla Walla winery did not win best of show.

However, it nearly happened again. Walla Walla winemaker Richard Funk and his Saviah Cellars 2015 The Jack Syrah took the title of best red and the Bob Woehler Award for best Washington wine. It came up just short of the Wild Goose 2016 Pinot Gris in the final round of acclamation voting.

Van Duzer Vineyards in the Willamette Valley merited the Cole Danehower Award for the best Oregon wine with its 2014 Westside Blocks Estate Pinot Noir.

Long Shadows Vintners, another Walla Walla Valley producer, took the award of best rosé for its 2016 Julia’s Dazzle, a delicious and delicately tinted wine made from Pinot Gris.>>>Read the entire article and list of Woodinville wine winners on Great Northwest Wine