Chelan, WA, July 9th, 2024 – Tsillan Cellars is thrilled to announce its recent achievements at the prestigious Pacific Northwest Wine Competition. Our wines received a Best in Show, eight Double Golds and six Golds, reflecting our dedication to quality and craftsmanship.

We are honored to share an article by Dan Radil, which highlights our accomplishments in this year’s competition. The article, originally published at pacificnorthwestwinecompetition.com provides an in-depth look at the event and our standout performances.

 Excerpt from PNW Wine Competition Article written by Dan Radil:

The Pacific Northwest Wine Competition continued its “bigger and better” trend with the completion of its 9th annual judged event, held June 24 to 26, 2024 at Walla Walla Community College.

A record-breaking 717 entries were received from the 146 participating wineries, which shattered the 2023 totals of 557 entries from 110 wineries.

Judging panels awarded 194 Double Gold and 201 Gold medals during the three-day competition, with Best in Show and Best Red Wine honors going to the Tsillan Cellars 2021 Petite Sirah.

TSILLAN CELLARS’ PETITE SIRAH ‘CHECKS ALL THE BOXES’

Tsillan Cellars, which has a rich history of sourcing its wines from estate-only vineyards in the Lake Chelan area, went outside the AVA to Red Mountain’s Heart of the Hill Vineyard for their Best in Show 2021 Petite Sirah.

“From 2003 to 2020, we used 100-percent estate-grown grapes,” said Dr. Bob Jankelson, who founded the winery in 2000.

But when Jankelson turned over the winemaking program to Head Winemaker Garrett Grubbs and Assistant Winemaker/Vineyard Manager Nic Stevens in 2021, the winery ventured out to Red Mountain as an additional source.

“Interestingly, that area was home to the same vineyards I used in 2000, before my estate vineyards were producing,” notes Jankelson. “So, we really were revisiting the success of our early years.”

“It’s hard to find really good Petite Sirah grapes,” added Grubbs. “We chose an elite, best-of-the-best vineyard site in Heart of the Hill,” which is owned by the Williams Family of Kiona Winery.

“We wanted to make a ‘statement wine,’ something new and exciting, and that’s what drove us,” Grubbs said.

“2021 was a big, warm growing year, and we took a hands-off approach in our winemaking. Even though this Petite Sirah has broader shoulders, it still has that pretty fruit, nice barrel notes, and a long finish that checks so many boxes it can handle a lot of palates.”

“To me, the ultimate complement to a winemaker is to say that their wine is silky,” added Jankelson. “It means that they’ve integrated the tannins, the acids, the fruit; and Garrett has that talent, whether it’s a Petite Sirah, or a Sangiovese, or a Dolcetto.”

Grubbs used that talent to craft not only the Best in Show wine, but another eight Double Gold and six Gold medalists in the 2024 Competition.

Not bad for someone who took over the lead winemaking reins at Tsillan Cellars just three years ago, and whose Petite Sirah almost didn’t make it into the competition.

The backstory: after General Manager, Bob Hargadon’s team packed the winery’s entries for pick-up, it was discovered that the Petite Sirah listed on the entry form wasn’t included in the box that was taken to Walla Walla. The oversight was quickly resolved, and the eventual Best in Show wine was sent in a separate delivery a few days later.

“We were just saving the best for last,” said Jankelson with a chuckle.