July 6, 2026 (Ukiah, CA) — The 47th annual Mendocino County Wine Competition has a new home. Hosted by Mendocino Winegrowers, Inc. (MWI), this year’s competition was part of the inaugural Bacchanal Mendocino festival weekend created in partnership between MWI and the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance (GUBTA).
Bacchanal Mendocino, “A Festival for the Senses,” took place in Ukiah from June 26-28, with the wine competition happening on Friday evening and the Best in Class results announced the very next day during the weekend’s anchor event, Taste Mendocino. “It was exciting to tell a crowd of 200 people which wines had won that they could taste right then and there,” says Clair Stover, MWI board member and assistant winemaker at Saracina Vineyards. Many of the Best in Class winners were being poured by the 20 wineries participating in Taste Mendocino.
“We thought it would be fun to combine these two longtime MWI events into one joyful festival weekend, which also included a winemaker dinner, Saturday afterparties, and open houses on Sunday,” explains MWI President Elizabeth Archer. “It wasn’t until GUBTA came on board that it really became possible, and it was a wonderful partnership and a fantastic event.” The festival was also supported by strong local sponsorship from the City of Ukiah, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, NorCal Party Pros, Total Bern Productions, Bonterra Organic Estates, Les Schwab of Ukiah, Ukiah Waste Solutions, HydroPacific Garden Supply, JAD3 Brands, Saracina Vineyards, and LC Home Team.
The Mendocino Wine Competition has been evolving for the past three years, and organizers believe they found the winning formula this year. Three panels of three professional judges each were paired with a small group of People’s Choice judges. The professionals guided the discussion, explaining what they look for in a wine and how they taste and rate wines, and answering questions from the public. The People’s Choice judges then decided amongst themselves on their Best in Class, while the professional panel awarded each wine Best in Class, Double Gold, Gold, Silver, or no award. “The competition format this year allowed our panel of professional judges to bring an element of wine education to the public in a unique way,” says Stover. “Wine-loving consumers got to taste and rate double-blinded wines alongside industry experts, which is a very rare opportunity.”
This year’s competition comprised approximately 100 wines across 49 winery labels, all within the Mendocino County AVA. Awards were given in 13 categories, or classes. As in years past, Gold+ wines will be poured at MWI’s booth at the Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show in Boonville from September 18-20.
BARRA of Mendocino took home the coveted Best in Class Pinot Noir for the second year in a row, this time with their 2024 Barra Reserve Pinot Noir, which also earned a Double Gold medal and 98-point score.
Husch Vineyards had a very good showing, winning four Best in Class awards for their 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, 2025 Blaze Rose, 2024 Old Vines Heritage Red Blend, and 2025 Late Harvest Gewurztraminer, which the judges awarded an impressive 99 points.
There were nine industry judges who participated: Chris Sawyer, sommelier and head judge; Deborah Parker Wong, global wine editor of the SOMM Journal; Tina Caputo, wine journalist; Bernadette Byrne, former executive director of MWI; Charles Brock, wine buyer at Surf Market; Bob Blue, retired Mendocino County winemaker; Ta’Rod Kenney, wine influencer and educator; Dawne Sacchetti, consulting winemaker; and John Buechsenstein, enologist and adjunct wine faculty at The Culinary Institute of America. “We’re so grateful to these industry experts for sharing their time and considerable expertise with us, especially within our non-traditional format,” says Archer. “They were all very good sports!”
For a full list of competition results, including links to all the winning wines, visit mendowine.com.
