Great Northwest Wine conducts a one-of-a-kind wine competition each October. It’s called The Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, and the 2023 judging will be staged Oct. 3-4-5 at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore.
- 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 in a blind competition.
Nominating judges for the 2022 Great Northwest Invite included:
- Katie Bray is the executive director of the Oregon Cheese Guild.
- Ilene Dudunake owns A New Vintage Wine Shop near Boise, Idaho. (Read her profile in the Idaho Statesman.)
- Stacey Gibson is an advanced sommelier, owner of Parallel Food & Wine in Portland and president of Women in Wine Oregon.
- Cyndi Gierok is the wine steward for Fred Meyer in Newberg, Ore.
- Guy Harris is the owner of Cru Selections in Woodinville, Wash.
- Clinton Hoiland is owner/operator of Twisted Vine Wine Tours, Lewiston, Idaho, and works Northern Idaho on- and off-premise sales for Idaho Wine Merchant.
- Chris Horn, director of liquids at the Heavy Restaurant Group based in Seattle and co-author of Cook + Cork.
- Lane Hoss is vice-president of operations and wine buyer for Anthony’s Restaurants, which is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash.
- 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.
- Brandon Lervold, a certified sommelier, is the cellar master at The Metropolitan Grill in Seattle.
- Tim McDonald is the founder of Wine & Spirits Spoken Here, Napa, Calif.
- JD Nolan is a certified sommelier/wine buyer/general manager/owner of Fat Olives Restaurants in Richland, Wash., and Homer, Alaska.
- Tim O’Brien is the longtime corporate beverage director for Salty’s Restaurants on Seattle’s Alki Beach, Redondo Beach in Des Moines, Wash., and along Portland’s Marine Drive.
- April Reddout, proprietor of Reddout Wine Consulting, which is based in Washington’s Columbia Valley.
- Paul Zitarelli is the founder/owner of Full Pull Wines in Seattle and author of 36 Bottles of Wine.
Chief judges for the 2022 Invite were Dana Van Nest, a writer and communications strategist who is a contributor to Winebow and a student of the Napa Valley Wine Academy; and Liz Woerman, a columnist for Great Northwest Wine and director of hospitality/DTC for Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Wash.