Seattle Wine & Food Experience: 1st Annual Wine Awards

Seattle Wine and Food Experience (SWFE) is pleased to announce the results of its first annual Wine Awards. 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 tasting panel, led by longtime Northwest wine journalists Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman, conducted the judging under blind conditions. Wines were awarded gold, silver and bronze medal and four were given top honors:

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

“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.”

Not all wineries pouring at the event chose to enter their wines in the inaugural Seattle Wine and Food Experience wine competition. See attached for full list of results from the competition or click here.

“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.”

Event attendees have the opportunity to taste wines from more than 135 wineries (500+ wines), learn by region and also test their palate with the new “Ask a Somm” feature where Seattle sommeliers pour mystery bottles of wine throughout the event and engage guests in conversation much like a roving classroom.

The Seattle Wine and Food Experience is this Sunday, February 23 at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Tickets for this year’s event are on sale now at seattlewineandfoodexperience.com. General Admission tickets are $55 and it is highly recommended that guests purchase their tickets in advance.

Media Contact:
Jamie Peha
206-661-8243 / Jamie@pehapromo.com

General Information:
Elizabeth Tveit
swfeinfo@gmail.com