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Cascadia International Wine Competition

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The ninth annual Cascadia International Wine Competition is scheduled for May 4-6, 2021 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 2021 Cascadia International Wine Competition. The fee is $60 per entry.

There are sub-categories to help vintners place their wines within the class that best suits them.

And at the request of a number of wineries, there is a Canned Wine group that includes six categories, including 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 immediately via email to wineries and on Twitter.
  • Results are posted as soon as the competition concludes.
  • Results are sent to our newspaper partners for inclusion in print and online.
  • 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).
  • Top winners appear in our weekly Northwest Wine column, which is syndicated in more than 20 Northwest newspapers.
  • All gold medal wines are eligible for consideration on The Seattle Times Top 20 Wines of the Year list.
  • All gold medal wines are eligible for consideration on The Seattle Times “Case Studies” for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.
  • Select gold medal winners are featured as a “Wine of the Week” in the Tri-City Herald newspaper and on Wine Press Northwest’s website 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 Wine Press Northwest magazine’s year-end 21st annual Platinum Judging.

Dates

  • The judging is scheduled for May 4-6 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 the fourth consecutive year, the British Columbia Wine Institute recognizes the Cascadia as a judging worthy of its international consolidation program.
  • For inquiries beyond the U.S., please contact Eric Degerman at eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com for deadlines and guidelines.

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

Judging panel

Competition photography

Categories

Canned wines

  • Red
  • Rosé
  • Sparkling/carbonated
  • White
  • Wine coolers
  • Wine spritzers

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