Gold medals for entries at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition that were made using fruit from the Pacific Northwest qualify for the 27th annual Platinum Awards. (Eric Degerman / Great Northwest Wine)
For the consumer, it’s a score to learn that the majority of the 26th annual Platinum Awards winners were still available on winery websites as of mid-February. In the “results” link just below, click on the highlighted name of the wine and your browers will often take you directly to that specific bottle.
Alas, it’s also a sign of the times — a reflection of the global wine glut and a reduction in the interest of adult craft beverages that’s enough to stress out anyone linked to the Pacific Northwest hospitality industry. But a winemaker will tell you that the hard-working farmers are the folks getting crushed the hardest right now — and from different directions.
Those judging a wine competition will tell you there never has been more quality wine being produced. It’s a fun but mind-binding task sometimes to decide the difference between a gold medal or a silver medals. A quarter of a century ago, it was often a struggle to find a wine worthy of a gold medal.
Don’t believe me? The esteemed Jancis Robinson wrote in her Friday 27 February 2026 newsletter, “The quality and range of wines available is indubitably better than it has ever been. Bear that in mind, please.”
There are myriad reasons for the gradual increase of interesting and drinkable wines. Most winemakers and a growing number of growers have received a formal education in their craft. And in the Pacific Northwest, there’s been a string of warm growing seasons.
In the short term, the consumer benefits from these advancements. In the long term, winemakers, growers and their employees will suffer until supply/demand strike a balance.
Some of these Platinum Awards winners earned their spot in our judging via a gold medal many months earlier. Each January, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is what I refer to as the Daytona 500 of North American wine judgings. It is the first, and it is the biggest.
Toward the other end of the calendar, a number of qualifiers received their berth in the Platinum when a recent release grabbed gold at the Great Northwest Invitational in Hood River, Ore. That’s less than a month ahead of the Platinum Awards. (We also recognize gold medals won via Sip Magazine’s Best of the Best Wine Competition, staged November in Seattle — a week after our Platinum so that’s more than 11 months before the Platinum Awards the following October.)
When that vintage-specific bottling of a Platinum winner is sold out, it’s worthwhile to ask when the next vintage will be released. Many of these producers have earned Platinum medals throughout their careers for their work with that style or variety — particularly if the vineyard sourcing remains the same — so there’s a decent chance the next release will at least rival, and maybe surpass, the sold-out bottling.
Perhaps most satisfying moments come when a Platinum winner is also revealed to be a Best Buy!, which means it sells for $20 or less. There are 15 of those, but don’t overlook any wine on the complete list of award winners. Again, the difference between a Platinum and a Double Gold often is rachis-thin. But it’s also important to remember that each entry into the Platinum was awarded a gold medal in order to qualify for our fall tasting. As Great Northwest Wine co-founder Andy Perdue long ago quipped, “The judges don’t get all of them right!”
When it comes to marketing campaigns in the wake of the Platinum, there are innovative approaches. Olympia Peninsula trailblazers Don and Vicky Corson created a “Platinum Winners 4-pack” offer on their Camaraderie Cellars website — their foursome of suave reds from sought-after vineyards for just $115.
Bargains also await those receive alerts from the likes of CapitalOne Shopping “cookies.” I just got the chance to “earn 36% back at Wine.com” for buying the Domaine de Terres Blanches 2021 Sauvignon Blanc — a Sancerre that Taylor Swift was seen with, much to the delight of Loire Valley producers.
Better yet, support winegrowers and vintners who live in the territory of the Super Bowl LX champion Seattle Seahawks. Buy a Sauvignon Blanc from Alexandria Nicole Cellars (2024), King Estate (2023) or Winescape (2024) — each earned a Double Platinum during our 26th annual year-end beauty pageant for Pacific Northwest wine.
Last I checked, all three wines were still available for purchase from the winery’s website. That’s worthy a “SCORE!” … and a sigh.
Dining and Cooking