Great Northwest Wine

News, reviews and info about the wines of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho

Cascadia International Wine Competition

The 2023 Cascadia International Wine Competition will be staged April 25-27 at the Courtyard Richland Columbia Point in Richland, Wash.

For its first three years, the Cascadia was known as the Great Northwest Wine Competition. In 2016, we changed the name to differentiate it from our wine buyer-focused Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition each October at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel.

Format

  • All wines are tasted blind by category.
  • Please submit three bottles of each entry because this is a multi-day judging.

Here is the link to enter the 2023 Cascadia International Wine Competition. The fee is $70 per entry, and the deadline to enter is Friday, April 21.

Entries must be shipped to: 
Cascadia Wine Competition
c/o Wine Boss
318 Wellhouse Loop
Richland, WA 99352

Dates

  • The judging is scheduled for April 25-27 in Richland, Wash.
  • While the competition was open to wineries in North America, any wine entered must be produced using fruit from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho or Montana.
  • For entries beyond the United States, please contact Eric Degerman at eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com for deadlines and guidelines.

There are sub-categories to help vintners place their wines within the class that best suits them. Categories include canned wine as well as wine coolers and wine spritzers. For a complete list of categories, please go to the bottom of this page.

Benefits of entering the Cascadia International Wine Competition

  • Wines are judged by some of the top wine professionals throughout the country, including journalists, winemakers, retailers and educators.
  • Gold medals are announced via email to wineries and on Twitter.
  • Results are posted as soon as the competition concludes.
  • Great Northwest Wine’s online audience (25,000 unique visitors per month and more than 3,000 email newsletter subscribers) receives results in a timely manner.
  • We link to medal winners’ website at no additional cost (some competitions charge up to $55 for such links).
  • All gold medal wines are eligible for consideration on The Seattle Times Top 20 Wines of the Year list.
  • Select gold medal winners are featured as a “Wine of the Week” on GreatNorthwestWine.com during the course of several weeks after the competition.
  • Our growing social media network receives alerts about competition medal winners.
  • A gold medal qualifies for Great Northwest Wine magazine’s year-end 24th annual Platinum Awards.

Competition director

Judging coordinator

  • Mike Rader, First Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Kennewick, Wash.

Associate judging coordinator

  • Kim Wolfe, senior provider network executive, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, based in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.

Chief judges

  • Richard Larsen, research winemaker/enologist emeritus, Washington State University, Puyallup, Wash.
  • Ken Robertson, columnist, Great Northwest Wine magazine, Kennewick, Wash.
  • Dana Van Nest, WSET 2, is an award-winning Seattle-based writer and communication strategist. She writes for Sip magazine and Winebow.

2023 judging panel

Competition photography

Categories

Canned wines

  • Red
  • Rosé
  • Sparkling/carbonated
  • White

Wine coolers

Wine-based seltzers

Ciders

Hybrid, native, non-grape wines

  • Mead
  • Hybrid
  • Fruit/nongrape

Red wines

  • Pinot Noir
  • Gamay
  • Zinfandel
  • Primitivo
  • Sangiovese
  • Barbera
  • Dolcetto
  • Nebbiolo
  • Anglianico
  • Montepulciano
  • Carignane
  • Syrah
  • Petite Sirah
  • Mondeuse
  • Cinsaut
  • Mourvèdre
  • Grenache
  • Merlot
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Malbec
  • Petit Verdot
  • Tannat
  • Touriga Naçional
  • Carménère
  • Tinta Cáo
  • Tempranillo
  • Souzáo
  • Maréchal Foch
  • Red native/other hybrid varieties
  • Lemberger/Blaufränkisch
  • Blauer Zweigelt
  • Red blend (please specify dominant grape)
  • Red blend, GSM
  • Red blend led by native/hybrid

Rosé

  • Rosé (Pinot Gris)
  • Rosé (Sangiovese)
  • Rosé (Nebbiolo)
  • Rosé (Pinot Noir)
  • Rosé (Gamay)
  • Rosé (Tempranillo)
  • Rosé (Cabernet Franc)
  • Rosé (Merlot)
  • Rosé (Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • Rosé (Cinsaut)
  • Rosé (Grenache)
  • Rosé (Syrah)
  • Rosé (Mourvèdre)
  • Rosé (GSM)
  • Rosé (blend other than GSM)

Sparkling wines

  • Blanc de blanc
  • Blanc de noir
  • Brut
  • Sparkling rosé
  • Sparkling Gamay
  • Sparkling Syrah
  • Sparkling Riesling
  • Sparkling Gewürztraminer
  • Sparkling Muscat
  • Sparkling, other
  • Semi-sparkling
  • Sparkling, non-grape

White dessert/Late harvest

  • Ice wine/icewine
  • Fortified, Port-style
  • Fortified using non-Port varieties

White wine

  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Chardonnay, oaked
  • Chardonnay, unoaked
  • White Pinot Noir
  • White blends (please specify dominant grape)
  • Viognier
  • Pinot Gris
  • Sèmillon
  • Muscat
  • Albariño
  • Chenin Blanc
  • Grenache Blanc
  • Vermentino
  • Pinot Blanc
  • Roussanne
  • Marsanne
  • Grüner Veltliner
  • Verdelho
  • Malvasia Bianca
  • Gewürztraminer
  • Riesling, dry
  • Riesling, off-dry
  • Riesling, sweet
  • White variety, Other (Please specify)
  • Ehrenfelser
  • Sieggerebe
  • Bacchus
  • Ortega
  • Auxerrois
  • Müller-Thurgau
  • Madeleine Angevine
  • Melon de Bourgogne/Muscadet
  • Trebbiano