Grand Harvest Awards

The 17th Grand Harvest Awards were held February 21-23 in Santa Rosa, California. This judging is sponsored by Vineyard & Winery Management magazine and includes entries from primarily the United States and Canada. It is the only North American wine competition that presents entries to judges according to regional classification. Wines of different appellations are arranged in flights and tasted by judges who have specific knowledge of regional characteristics. Wines of specific appellations are tasted and compared with other wines from the same appellation. The wines are judged independent of suggested retail price.

This year there were a record number and percentage of wines receiving Gold Medals. 73 percent of the wines entered won a medal with 10 Double Gold, 186 Gold, 506 Silver, and 465 Bronze. The total number of entries was an all-time high of 1,610.

The Gold Medal winners among Pinot Noirs include the following:

Central Coast

2005 Jekel Vineyards Pinot Noir 15,000 cases, $15

2005 Hahn Estate Pinot Noir 22,000 cases, $18

Los Carneros

2004 Mahoney Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir 300 cases, $36

2005 Reynolds Family Winery Pinot Noir 800 cases, $45

Anderson Valley

2004 Claudia Springs Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 300 cases, $28

Napa Valley

2005 Hagafen Cellars Pinot Noir 1000 cases, $32

North Coast

2003 Savannah Chanelle Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 367 cases, $30

Russian River Valley

2005 La Crema Pinot Noir 7900 cases, $34

2005 Mossbeck Pinot Noir 820 cases, $25

2004 Rodney Strong Vineyards Reserve Jane’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2251 cases, $35

San Francisco Bay

2005 Domenico Pinot Noir 126 cases, $35

Canada 2004 Quail’s Gate Okanagen Valley Canada Family Reserve Pinot Noir 2161 x 6 packs, $40.