2014 Seattle Wine & Food Experience Wine Awards Results Announced!

While the Seattle Wine & Food Experience (@SeattleWineFood) is still a few (very short) days away, the first annual Wine Awards for the event were announced today! Though not all wineries pouring at the event chose to enter their wines in the inaugural Seattle Wine and Food Experience wine competition, more than 60 wineries submitted 150+ wines for the awards in a variety of styles from red and white to sparkling and dessert. The wines were tasted and awarded medals by Great Northwest Wine’s (@GreatNWWine) tasting panel, led by longtime Northwest wine journalists Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman. The judges conducted the tasting under blind conditions. "The awards program was created to give wineries an opportunity to have their wines tasted by top wine professionals on the West Coast,” said Jamie Peha, president of Peha Promotions, TableTalk Northwest and producer of SWFE. "Because Seattle Wine and Food Experience is open to all wine regions it gives wineries an opportunity to be tasted on a broader scale.”

Wines were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals and four were given top honors:

• Best in Show: Brian Carter Cellars (@briancarterwine) Opulento 2011, Yakima Valley
• Best Red: Milbrandt Vineyards (@MilbrandtVino) Brothers’ Blend 2011, Columbia Valley
• Best White: Eye of the Needle Harvest White NV, Columbia Valley
• Best Sparkling: Treveri Cellars (@TreveriCellars) Gewürztraminer Demi-Sec NV, Columbia Valley

The full list of award results can be found here.

 

"It was enlightening to judge such a diverse and high-quality group of wines," said Andy Perdue, wine columnist for The Seattle Times. "We tasted a lot of high-quality wines from up and down the West Coast, as well as a handful of international entries. While it is a bit unusual to select a fortified dessert wine as best in show, the Brian Carter Cellars Opulent was spectacular in its aromas, flavors and balance of fruit to alcohol."

You can bet that the four top honor winery tables will surely be bustling come Sunday, as guests flock to try these award winning wines. The main event is this Sunday, February 23^rd, 2014 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Tickets for the event are on sale now here. While the coveted VIP tickets sold out quickly, General Admission tickets are just $55. Don’t procrastinate and try to purchase your ticket at the door, it’s highly likely that the event will sell out in advance of Sunday. Cheers and I will see you Sunday at the 2014 Seattle Wine & Food Experience!