
The judging panel for the 22nd annual Platinum Awards featured:
- Kristine Bono, certified sommelier, Texas Hill Country
- Tim Donahue, winemaker/consultant, Horse Thief Wine Solutions, Walla Walla
- Kent FitzGerald, KW FitzGerald Consulting, Walla Walla
- Gary Hayes, proprietor, Savor NW Wine Awards, Cannon Beach, Ore.
- Ellen Landis, certified sommelier/journalist, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Richard Larsen, research winemaker/enologist emeritus, Washington State University, Puyallup, Wash.
- Dan Radil, journalist/proprietor, Bellingham Northwest Wine Festival, Bellingham, Wash.
- Ken Robertson, columnist/editor, Great Northwest Wine magazine, Kennewick, Wash.
- Gordy Venneri, co-winemaker, Neher Family Wines, Milton-Freewater, Ore./co-founder, Walla Walla Vintners
Moderators were Eric Degerman, Great Northwest Wine, Richland, Wash.; Jerry Hug, Great Northwest Wine, Kennewick, Wash., and April Reddout, Reddout Wine Consulting, Kennewick, Wash. The judging coordinator was Mike Rader, First Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Kennewick, Wash.
Backroom team included Fernando Alvarez, Marie Clark, Terry Graff, Sue Anne Marple, Vanessa Metcalf, Paul Sinclair, Reneé Staat and Dan Staat.
Here are a few statistics of interest about the 2021 Platinum Awards:
* Total entries: 528
* Double Platinums: 66 (12%)
* Platinums: 127 (24%)
* Double golds: 210 (40%)
* Golds: 117 (22%)
* Total cases represented in this judging: 2,548,202
* Average alcohol by volume: 13.95%
* Average price per bottle: $34.78
* Average price per Double Platinum: $37.11
* Mean price for Double Platinum: $34
* Average per per Platinum: $35.03
* Mean price for Platinum: $34
* What it would cost to buy one bottle of each wine judged: $17,984
American Viticultural Areas represented
The breakdown of the 33 AVAs was led by the Columbia Valley (124), followed by Yakima Valley (55), Horse Heaven Hills (35), Walla Walla Valley (34), Red Mountain (32), Washington State (30), Willamette Valley (26), Snake River Valley (25), Rogue Valley (22), Umpqua Valley (20), Lake Chelan (15), American (12), Lewis-Clark Valley (12), Wahluke Slope (12), Rattlesnake Hills (8), Royal Slope (8), Southern Oregon (8), Columbia Gorge (7), Applegate Valley (6), Puget Sound (6), Snipes Mountain (5), White Bluffs (5), Yamhill-Carlton (5), Chehalem Mountains (4), Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley (2), Eola-Amity Hills (2), McMinnville (2), Candy Mountain (1), Dundee Hills (1), Eagle Foothills (1), Naches Heights (1), Oregon (1) and Tualatin Hills (1).
Platinums won by AVA
Columbia Valley (50), Yakima Valley (19), Horse Heaven Hills (14), Red Mountain (14), Walla Walla Valley (13), Washington State (12), Willamette Valley (11), Snake River Valley (7), Lake Chelan (6), Rogue Valley (6), Royal Slope (5), Umpqua Valley (5), American (4), Lewis-Clark Valley (4), Puget Sound (3), Rattlesnake Hills (3), Wahluke Slope (3), Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley (2), Applegate Valley (2), Snipes Mountain (2), Southern Oregon (2), Candy Mountain (1), Columbia Gorge (1), Eagle Foothills (1), Eola-Amity Hills (1) and Yamhill-Carlton (1).
Leading categories of Platinum winners
All red blends – 36
Cabernet Sauvignon – 24
Pinot Noir – 13
Syrah – 13
Malbec – 10
Merlot – 9
Rosé – 9
Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blends – 9
Red blends led by Cabernet Sauvignon – 9
Red blends led by Merlot – 7
Red blends led Syrah – 5
Tempranillo – 8
Riesling – 7
Cabernet Franc – 5
Chardonnay – 4
Albariño – 4
Carménère – 4
Where can i find the winners that are Double Gold and Gold?
Greetings, Vicki.
I apologize for the delay, but I just posted the list you asked about.
https://greatnorthwestwine.com/2023/01/03/rich-cushmans-affection-for-grenache-reflected-in-no-1-wine-of-2022-platinum/
Congratulations to you and Don on the showing of your program. The individual reviews will be published during the next few days. I’ve chosen to do it this way in order to honor those folks who support our journalism through a print subscription to the magazine.
Sincerely,
Eric