Gorge wines win at SF Chronicle competition

Marchesi Vineyards garnered seven medals, including four silvers.

Tess and Patrik Barr, vintner owners of Hood Crest, will return to the Bay Area this month to pour their gold medal wines at a Chronicle tasting event at Fort Mason Center for Culture and the Arts in San Francisco.

Asked what she will tell people at the event about Gorge wine-making, Tess Barr said she would point out that this AVA is on the same latitude as the French Bordeaux region, but that the Gorge’s numerous microclimates and terroirs lead to tremendous diversity in the wines.

Three other Gorge wineries also collected prizes in the largest competition of wines in North America. A total of 6,800 wineries entered. Here are the winners:

Hood Crest

Chardonnay: Columbia Gorge, Barrel Fermented — Gold

2016 Grenache: Columbia Valley, Barrel Aged — Gold

Red blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley Barrel Aged — Bronze

Cabernet Sauvignon: Columbia Valley Barrel Aged — Silver

2015 Malbec, Columbia Valley, Barrel Aged — Silver

2015 Merlot, Columbia Valley Barrel Aged — Silver

2016 Pinot Noir, Columbia Gorg, Estate Grown, Estate Bottled —Bronze

Cathedral Ridge Winery

2016 Red blend, Mourvede leading blend, Columbia Valley The Daughter’s Reserve — Gold

Label: Artistic, 2016 Columbia Valley, The Last Best Wife Petit Verdot — Gold

Syrah/Shiraz, $41 and above, 2014 Columbia Valley Reserve Syrah — Bronze

Cabernet Franc, $40 and above: 2015 Columbia Valley Moody Vineyard — Silver

2015 Columbia Valley, Winemaker’s Reserve — Silver

Marchesi Vineyards

Nebbiolo: 2016 Columbia Valley — Bronze

Red Blend: Zinfandel leading blend, $25 and above: 2016 Columbia Valley, Pace — Bronze

Sangiovese $30 and above: 2017 Columbia Valley — Silver

Red Blend: Cabernet Sauv igon leading blend $35 -$45, 2015 Walla Walla County, Cabernet — Silver

Red Blend: Pinot Noir leading blend, 2018 Columbia Valley Solimano — Silver

Red Blend: Barbera leading blend, 2016 Columbia Valley Connubio — Silver

Red Blend: Barbera leading blend, 2016 Columbia Valley, — Silver

AniChe Cellars

Syrah/Shiraz, $41 and above

2016: Columbia Valley, Atticus Syrah — Bronze

White Blends, $20 to $30: 2017 Yakima Valley, Bombadil — Silver

Red Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon leading blend, $45 to $55 — Silver

14 Hands Winery

Red Blend: Cab Sauv leading blend, $35 to $45, 2015, Horse Heaven Hills, The Reserve Red Blend — Best of Class

Brut, NV, Columbia Valley, Brut Sparkling Wine — Silver

Cabernet Sauvignon, $35 to $39, 2015 Horse Heaven Hills, The Reserve — Silver

White Salmon Vineyards

Chardonnay, $29 to $35, 2013 Columbia Gorge Estate Chardonnay — Bronze

Chardonnay, $20 to $25, 2012 Columbia Gorge — Silver