Winners Announced! 29th Annual McMinnville Wine Classic Competition impressed the judges including Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sparkling and more
Quality of wine from across the State of Oregon impresses Judges The competition was open to ALL Oregon wineries for the second time since inception. Submissions from non-festival wineries surpasses expectations.
The McMinnville Wine & Food Classic completed its 29th annual wine competition on Saturday 1/8/22 despite Covid restrictions, inclement weather and airline flight changes.
The wine competition is the feeder event for the consumer festival in March – which is scheduled March 11-13, having been canceled since 2020.
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Both the competition and festival are dedicated fundraisers for McMinnville’s St. James School, and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for programs benefiting the school’s children.
Organized and staffed by volunteers, the Mac Classic competition is one of the largest Oregon Only wine competitions in the state. Visit https://macclassic.org/wine-competition/
The wine competition draws professional judges from across the U.S., although this year travel was restricted to west coast judges, who flew and drove to McMinnville.
The judging panel continues to represent the full spectrum of the wine industry, including Masters of Wine (MW), sommeliers, buyers, wine writers from local, regional and national media outlets, wine educators, and professional judges from industry titans like The Oregonian, Fred Meyer Stores, Great Northwest Wine, Forbes, and Slow Wine Guide.
Related: Foodies and Wine – There’s something for everyone at this Oregon destination.
You can find the 2022 Judges Panel on the website.
Wines were showing well, and distribution of awards was across the state.
Taking home top honors in 2022 was Iris Vineyards, whose 2020 Pinot Gris claimed Best of Show and Best White Varietal, a first time ever for a Pinot Gris.
Best Red Varietal went to Melrose Vineyards for their 2015 Syrah, and Best Red Blend landed with K & M Wines of Newberg for their 2019 Treble.
Best Pinot Noir went to Cubanismo Vineyards for their 2016 Estate Pinot Noir.
Cardwell Hill Cellars won Best Chardonnay again this year, a record third time, for their 2020 The Bard Chard.
Chris James Cellars for Best White Blend for their 2020 Cuvee Blanc.
Related: Winelovers, looking for a fairytale destination? Check here first.
Rounding out the awards was 40:31 Wines who gained the top spot in the Best Sparkling Wine category for their 2018 Blanc de Noir sparkling wine.
A complete list of Winery Awards can be found here: https://macclassic.org/wine-competition-awards/
