The 2020 Washington State Wine Competition is tentatively scheduled for late July in the heart of Washington wine country.

From 1980 through 2015, the judging was operated by the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima. Fair officials discontinued the judging when longtime competition director Ruth Anglin retired. The judging is now operated by Great Northwest Wine, a media company based in Richland, Wash. It is owned by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue, newspaper veterans who have spent two decades as wine journalists. We judge several international competitions across North America and stage competitions each year throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Washington State Wine Competition also serves as a fundraiser for the next generation of Washington winemakers, as proceeds from the judging fund a scholarship at Yakima Valley College’s winemaking program.

Please ship entries to:

Washington State Wine Competition
Great Northwest Wine LLC
8524 W. Gage Blvd., A-244
Kennewick, WA 99336

Entries must arrive no later than Friday, July 17, 2020.

Cost to enter

$55 per entry.

Click here to enter the 2020 Washington State Wine Competition

Competition director

Eric Degerman — eric@GreatNorthwestWine.com, (509) 727-4317

Eligible wines

• Any winery that is physically located in Washington state may enter this competition.
• The wines may come from any AVA within Washington.

Format

• Please submit two (2) bottles of each entry.
• All wines are judged blind by category
  

  Benefits of entering the Washington State Wine Competition

  • Wines are judged by some of the top wine professionals throughout the state, 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.
  • Top winners appear in our weekly wine column, which is syndicated in 22 Northwest newspapers.
  • 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 over the course of several weeks after the competition.
  • Our growing social media network receives alerts about competition medal winners.
  • Gold medal winners are automatically eligible for Wine Press Northwest magazine’s year-end Platinum Judging.
  • Gold medal winners are automatically eligible for consideration in Great Northwest Wine’s Top 100 Wines of the Year list.

A look back

Results of the 2019 Washington State Wine Competition

Results of the 2018 Washington State Wine Competition

Results of the 2017 Washington State Wine Competition

2019 judges

• Matthew Boenzli, research winemaker, Washington State University, Richland, Wash.
• Kristine Bono, direct-to-consumer manager, Tertulia Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash.
• Amberleigh Brownson, director of operations, Leader Block Wine Co. & Eatery, Ferndale, Wash.
• Tim Donahue, director of winemaking/CEO, College Cellars and The Institute for Enology & Viticulture, Walla Walla Community College
• Kat Dykes, wine concierge, The Lodge at Columbia Point, Richland, Wash.
• Jeremy Eubanks, assistant winemaker, Va Piano Vineyards, Walla Walla, Wash.
• Kent FitzGerald, KWFitzGerald Consulting, Walla Walla, Wash.
• Robert Gomez, sommelier, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen, Walla Walla, Wash.
• Sean Hails, senior manager of operations/winemaking, Columbia Winery, Woodinville, Wash.
• Richard Larsen, research winemaker/enologist emeritus, Washington State University, Richland, Wash.
• Gregg McConnell, editor, Wine Press Northwest magazine, Kennewick, Wash.
• Andy Perdue, wine columnist, The Seattle Times
• Ken Robertson, columnist, Wine Press Northwest magazine, Kennewick, Wash.
• Brad Smith, instructional technician vineyard and winery technology at Yakima Valley Vintners, Yakima Valley College, Grandview, Wash.
• Gordy Venneri, co-founder/retired, Walla Walla Vintners, Walla Walla, Wash.