As someone who has followed, written and tasted some of the best that the Pacific Northwest wine industry has offered in the past 25 years, it is disappointing and occasionally maddening to read some of the headlines written recently. That’s why it is uplifting — albeit time-consuming — to share the delicious news from our 24th annual Platinum Awards, which dominates the … [Read more...] about Despite wine industry doomsayers, 24th Platinum Awards lead to 230 delicious stories
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Fort Berens Estate Winery 2021 Riesling, British Columbia $23
Best Buy! One of the Pacific Northwest’s most striking settings for delicious Riesling is Lillooet, British Columbia — halfway between Whistler and Kamloops, overlooking the Fraser River. The Riesling category at the 2023 Platinum was quite competitive, and this bottling via South African winemaker Alessandro Nel’s first vintage was one of just three Double Platinums in the … [Read more...] about Fort Berens Estate Winery 2021 Riesling, British Columbia $23
Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Dry Rock Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley $20.69
Best Buy! When it comes to Sauvignon Blanc — and a few other aromatic whites — the Gehringer brothers are among the Pacific Northwest’s elite, vintage after vintage. This marks the ninth career Platinum for Walter and Gordon Gehringer’s Sauvignon Blanc, which they grow along their estate on the Golden Mile Bench in the south Okanagan Valley. Aromas of cantaloupe, papaya and … [Read more...] about Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Dry Rock Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley $20.69
Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Ehrenfelser, Okanagan Valley $16.99
Best Buy! The Gehringer family’s involvement in the historic Becker Project by Geisenheim viticulturist Helmut Becker in the 1980s led to their extended plantings of Ehrenfelser, a cross of Riesling and Silvaner developed by Becker. Here is Gehringer’s 18th Platinum with that early-ripening variety that survived the Okanagan Valley’s historic killing freeze of a year ago. The … [Read more...] about Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Ehrenfelser, Okanagan Valley $16.99
LA FRENZ Winery 2022 Freedom 75 Vineyard Estate Riesling 21B, Naramata Bench $21.50
Best Buy! These pioneers on British Columbia’s Naramata Bench have now earned 24 career Platinums from our panels, and a whopping nine of those have been of the unanimous variety. Remarkably, this is only the second time that the Martin family has received a Platinum for Riesling. They planted Freedom 75 across the road from their winery in 2011, and clone 21B is credited to … [Read more...] about LA FRENZ Winery 2022 Freedom 75 Vineyard Estate Riesling 21B, Naramata Bench $21.50