Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition

• Chris Arora is the lead sommelier at John Howie Steak in Bellevue, Wash., and key account manager in Seattle for American Northwest Import & Distribution, which also has offices in Portland and Spokane.
• Naomi Boutz is owner/wine director of Vine & Olive Riverstone Eatery and Wine Bar in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. (She is a past participant of Wine Press Northwest magazine’s Match Maker series.)
• Amberleigh Brownson is the wine buyer and director of operations for Leader Block Wine Co. & Eatery in Ferndale, Wash.
• Daniel Carr is co-owner, Visconti’s Italian Restaurant Group and Cured by Visconti, Wenatchee, Wash. (He is a past participant of Wine Press Northwest magazine’s Match Maker series.)
• Jeff Cox is wine buyer for PCC Natural Markets in the Puget Sound.
• Ilene Dudunake owns A New Vintage Wine Shop near Boise, Idaho. (Read her profile in the Idaho Statesman.)
• Gary Hayes is president of Explorer Media Group, Seaside, Ore.
• Dave Holstrom operates Guy du Vin, a restaurant wine program consulting business in Portland.
• Lane Hoss is the wine buyer and Vice-President of operations for Anthony’s Restaurants, which is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash.
• Chris Horn is the wine director for Seattle-based Heavy Restaurant Group and Purple Café & Wine Bar and co-author of Cook + Cork.
• Ellen Landis is a certified sommelier, wine journalist and renowned international wine judge.
• Emmett Niland, manager/beer & spirits director, Ray’s Cafe in Seattle.
• Tim Norris is general manager of Reds Wine Bar in Kent, Wash. (He is a past participant of Wine Press Northwest magazine’s Match Maker series.)
• Tim O’Brien is corporate director of beverage for Salty’s Restaurants in Seattle.
• Katelyn Peil is beverage director of the Seattle-based Heavy Restaurant Group.
• Steve Sinkler is owner of The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach, Ore.
• Dave Smith is director of buying for Everything Wine in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Mark Takagi is specialty sales director of the Seattle-based Metropolitan Market group.
• Sara Wilson is wine buyer/GM/executive chef for Mystic Café, Lewiston, Idaho. (She is a past participant of Wine Press Northwest magazine’s Match Maker series.)
• Doug Zellers is co-owner/GM of Ray’s Boathouse, Café & Catering in Seattle.
• Paul Zitarelli is owner for Full Pull Wines in Seattle, wine writer for Seattle magazine and author of 36 Bottles of Wine by Sasquatch Books.

Chief judges for the 2019 Invite are Sophia McDonald Bennett, a journalist based in Eugene, Ore., who contributes to SevenFifty Daily; Dylan Joffe, staff writer for Full Pull Wines in Seattle and contributor to I’d Rather Be Meryl.com, and Ken Robertson, columnist for Wine Press Northwest magazine. and editor emeritus of the Tri-City (Wash.) Herald.

Gold medals will be posted on Twitter as they are awarded and emailed to the wineries. Full results will be posted upon the conclusion of the competition.