Andy Perdue, co-founder of GreatNorthwestWine.com, developed the Platinum Awards in 2000 as a way to determine some of the best wines of the Pacific Northwest.
The 23nd annual Platinum Awards took place Oct. 26-28, 2022 at the Clover Island Inn in Kennewick, Wash. To accomplish this each year, Great Northwest Wine tracks more than 50 professionally judged wine competitions worldwide. The goal is to compile a list of wines that won gold medals during the previous 12 months and were produced with fruit from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho or Montana.
Late each summer, Publisher Jerry Hug begins contacting the wineries, inviting them to enter those wines. The entries are categorized and judged blind over several days by three panels of experts who award wines with Platinum, Double Gold, Gold or no medal. A wine is awarded a medal based on how a majority of the judges voted. In the case when all of the judges on a panel deem the wine worthy of a Platinum, that wine is awarded a unanimous Double Platinum.
Starting in 2021, the panel responded to years of requests by wineries to include the 100-point scale and score each Platinum winner. Based on each judge’s rating and score, we are able to rank which wine or wines that end up at the top — “The Best of the Best.”
Platinum Awards all-time leaderboard
1, Maryhill Winery, Goldendale, Wash. — 103
2, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Oliver, British Columbia — 97
3, Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards, Roseburg, Ore — 53
4, tie Château Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Wash. — 45
4, tie, Zerba Cellars, Milton-Freewater, Ore. — 45
6, Clearwater Canyon Cellars, Lewiston, Idaho — 41
7, tie, Thurston Wolfe, Prosser, Wash. — 37
7, tie, Westport Winery Garden Resort, Aberdeen, Wash. — 37
9, Brian Carter Cellars, Woodinville, Wash. — 33
10, tie, Coyote Canyon Winery / H/H Estates, Prosser, Wash. — 32
10, tie, Palencia Wine Co. / Vino la Monarcha, Kennewick, Wash. — 32
Tsillan Cellars, Chelan, Wash. — 31
Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate, Oliver, British Columbia — 25
Barnard Griffin Winery, Richland, Wash. — 23
Basalt Cellars, Clarkston, Wash. — 23
La Frenz Winery, Penticton, British Columbia — 23
Spangler Vineyards, Roseburg, Ore. — 23
Kiona Vineyards and Winery, Benton City, Wash. — 21
The Bunnell Family Cellar, Prosser, Wash. — 21
Jones of Washington, Quincy, Wash. — 20
Mellisoni Vineyards, Chelan, Wash. — 20
Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Paterson, Wash. — 19
Wild Goose Vineyards, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia —19
Walla Walla Vintners, Walla Walla, Wash. — 18
Cellardoor Winery, Lincolnville, Maine — 18
Milbrandt Vineyards, Prosser, Wash. — 18
Cave B Estate Winery, Quincy, Wash. — 17
King Estate Winery, Eugene, Ore. — 17
Smasne Cellars, Kennewick, Wash. — 17
Cardwell Hill Cellars, Philomath, Ore. — 16
Abacela, Roseburg, Ore. — 15
Spoiled Dog Winery, Langley, Wash. — 15
Watermill Winery, Milton-Freewater, Ore. — 15
* Cathedral Ridge Winery, Hood River, Ore. — 14
Domaine Ste. Michelle, Paterson, Wash. — 14
Dusted Valley Vintners, Walla Walla, Wash. — 14
L’Ecole No. 41, Lowden, Wash. — 14
Mt. Hood Winery, Hood River, Ore. — 14
Northwest Cellars, Kirkland, Wash. — 14
Saviah Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash. — 14
Brandborg Vineyard & Winery, Elkton, Ore. — 13
14 Hands Winery, Prosser, Wash. — 12
Schmidt Family Cellars, Grants Pass, Ore. — 12
* Yakima Valley Vintners / Yakima Valley College, Grandview, Wash — 12
* Château Faire Le Pont Winery, Wenatchee, Wash. — 11
* Chris Daniel Winery, Quincy, Wash. — 11
* DeLille Cellars, Woodinville, Wash. — 11
Dunham Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash. — 11
* Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, Liberty Lake, Wash. — 11
* Mercer Estates, Prosser, Wash. — 11
Reininger / Helix by Reininger, Walla Walla, Wash. — 11
* Puffin Brand, Cannon Beach, Ore. — 10
* — New to leaderboard in 2022
Editor’s note: Cellardoor Winery is in the state of Maine, but all of their Platinum winners have been produced with grapes from the Pacific Northwest.
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