Great Northwest Wine conducts a one-of-a-kind wine competition each October. It’s called The Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, and the 12th annual judging will be staged Oct. 1-2-3, 2024 at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa in Hood River, Ore.
- See the 2023 results
- See the 2022 results
- See the 2021 results
- See the 2020 results
- See the 2019 results
- See the 2018 results
- See the 2017 results
- See the 2016 results
- See the 2015 results
- See the 2014 results
- See the 2013 results
Here’s how it works:
- We recruit influential wine professionals to join us for this competition at the Columbia Gorge Hotel’s historic Benson Ballroom.
- Judges nominate as many as 120 Pacific Northwest wines to be invited.
- The panel then evaluates the wines within a blind competition.
Nominating judges for the Great Northwest Invite:
- Jusden Aumand is the sourcing director/head buyer for Tri-Vin Wine and Spirits, New Rochelle, N.Y.
- Margaret Bray is the export marketing strategist for the Oregon Wine Board.
- Nancy Croisier owns and operates VinoSocial in Woodinville, Wash., and contributes to the Slow Wine Guide USA and Edible Seattle.
- Ilene Dudunake is owner of A New Vintage Wine Shop in Meridian, Idaho.
- Clinton Hoiland, based in Lewiston, Idaho, handles Northern Idaho on- and off-premise sales for Idaho Wine Merchant and is owner/operator of Twisted Vine Wine Tours throughout the Lewis-Clark Valley.
- Lane Hoss consults for Anthony’s Restaurants and the Washington Athletic Club.
- Ellen Landis is a certified sommelier, journalist and renowned international wine judge with offices in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Windsor, Calif.
- Allison M. Markin is a columnist/wine writer for Castanet Media and principal of AllSheWrote.ca in Penticton, British Columbia.
- Kimberlea Miller is the proprietor, wine buyer and chef for Wildflower Barrelhouse, a wine bar and bottle shop in North Bend, Wash.
- Tim O’Brien is the recently retired corporate director of beverage at Salty’s Restaurants.
- Katelyn Peil is a certified sommelier and account executive for OpenTable in Seattle.
- Darrell Statema is the wine director and a restaurant manager for Ray’s, the historic Seattle destination along Shilshole Bay.
Chief judges for the 2024 Great Northwest Invitational are Bellingham sommelier/writer Amberleigh Brownson and Dana Van Nest, a Seattle-based communications strategist and contributor to Great Northwest Wine and other regional publications.