North Coast wine winners
- The 2026 North Coast Wine Challenge judged more than 1,000 wines from the North Coast this week. - Entries came from Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, and Solano counties, with multiple gold and double-gold winners. - Judges also flagged value picks like Breathless NV Méthode Champenoise, rated 98 points and priced at $29. (pressdemocrat.com 1) (pressdemocrat.com 2)
A Sonoma Mountain Grenache from Grey Stack Cellars beat 1,039 entries to win the top prize at the 2026 North Coast Wine Challenge. (pressdemocrat.com) The Press Democrat competition drew wines from six North Coast counties — Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, Mendocino and Solano — and judged them in Santa Rosa in early April. Thirty judges tasted the wines blind, and 42 bottles advanced to the sweepstakes round. (pressdemocrat.com 1) (pressdemocrat.com 2) (northcoastwineandfood.com) Grey Stack’s 2023 Four Brothers Estate Grenache won Best of the Best, Best Red Wine and Best of Sonoma County with 99 points. The county winners also included Moshin Vineyards’ 2024 Chenin Blanc for Sonoma, Sean Minor’s 2023 Pinot Noir for Marin, and Brassfield Estate Winery’s 2023 Eruption for Lake County. (pdncwc.com) (pressdemocrat.com) The results offer a yearly snapshot of which grapes, wineries and price tiers are standing out across the North Coast, a region that spans luxury Napa Cabernet estates and smaller Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake County producers. The competition only accepts wines made from fruit grown in eligible North Coast American Viticultural Areas, the federally defined winegrowing regions used on labels. (wine-searcher.com) (northcoastwineandfood.com) This year’s list also highlighted lower-priced bottles, not just trophy wines. The value roundup included Breathless NV Méthode Champenoise at 98 points for $29, Bricoleur Vineyards’ 2023 Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc at 98 points for $38, and Pedroncelli’s 2023 Mother Clone Zinfandel at 97 points for $25. (pressdemocrat.com) Other top category winners showed the range of styles that scored well. Moshin Vineyards’ 2024 Chenin Blanc was named Best White Wine, Grey Stack’s 2025 Four Brothers Rosé won Best Rosé, and Breathless took Best Sparkling Wine with its nonvintage Brut Rosé. (pdncwc.com) The challenge has become a marketing platform as much as a medal event. Gold Medal Plus wines will be poured at the public North Coast Wine & Food Festival on June 13, 2026, giving consumers a chance to taste many of the winners in one place. (pdncwc.com) (northcoastwineandfood.com) For wineries, the immediate takeaway is simple: a Sonoma Grenache led the field, sparkling wine and Chenin Blanc posted some of the highest scores, and several bottles under $40 made the judges’ short list. (pressdemocrat.com 1) (pressdemocrat.com 2) (pdncwc.com)
