MEDFORD, Ore. (Aug. 17, 2022) – Three wines won Best of Show honors from this year’s Oregon Wine Competition®, announced tonight during the Oregon Wine Experience® Medal Celebration. The in-person and livestream event took place at Stage Pass, the new home of Oregon Wine Experience, located in Southern Oregon.
This year, 83 Oregon wineries entered their wines in Oregon Wine Competition with hopes of taking home one of five honors – Silver, Gold, Double Gold, Best of Class or Best of Show. Below are the 2022 Best of Show honorees:
- Specialty: 2021 Erath Pinot Noir Rosé (Oregon AVA)
- White: 2021 King Estate Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley AVA)
- Red: 2019 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley AVA)
In 2021, a new award was added – Best of Class. Best of Class is awarded to one wine of any subcategory (i.e. Pinot Noir) that exceeds 20 entries, as deemed by the panel of judges. This year, four subcategories met these qualifications and here are the winners:
- Pinot Noir: 2019 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley AVA) • Rose: 2021 Erath Pinot Noir Rosé (Oregon AVA)
- Red Blend: 2020 Benedetto Vineyards Ricardo’s Reserve Red Wine (Walla Wall Valley AVA) • Syrah: 2018 Quady North Mae’s Vineyard Syrah (Applegate Valley AVA)
“It was really eye opening and quite surprising, in a good way, to see these interesting blends in both white and reds,” said Eric Hemer, Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, and one of the 2022 Oregon Wine Competition judges.
In addition to three Best of Show winners and four Best of Class honorees, 19 wines merited a Double Gold, 21 took Gold and 159 received Silver. The full list of medal recipients is available here. These award-winning wines represents 14 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Oregon.
