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The boardrooms at the Pasco Red Lion might have been confused with the Olympic Games on Wednesday afternoon with all the talk of gold, silver and bronze.
Though there weren't any swimming heats or hurdle races, a set of judges performed verbal gymnastics as they swirled, smelled, sipped and spat dozens of Pacific Northwest wines for the 30th annual Tri-Cities Wine Festival, the oldest wine festival in the state.
"It has a little more acidity and more brightness," said Wilfred Wong as he argued his case for awarding a gold to a merlot.
"I didn't find acids as good as I wanted, but the tannins are all there," Dan Berger replied.
The group of five judges agreed to award the wine a silver.
Judging for the festival's competition started Wednesday morning and is expected to last until Friday afternoon in order to fit in all 330 wines entered from wineries in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia.
It's thought to be the most wines entered in the competition, said Mary Binder, communications chairwoman for the Tri-Cities Wine Society, which sponsors the event.
All of the wines will be available at the Pasco Red Lion for public tasting Saturday night, when awards will be given in the bronze, silver and gold categories, as well as the coveted top recognition for best in show.
"It's a golden opportunity for people to come to one location and taste a lot of great wines," Binder said.
Wong, cellarmaster for the retail chain Beverages & More, headquartered in Concord, Calif., is a 35-year veteran of the wine industry and is judging the festival after a hiatus of many years.
He cited Pacific Northwest wines for their diversity and focused characteristics. Particularly with syrah and riesling, he said, the area is poised to become a leader.
"Those two varieties are very strong," he said.
Berger, a nationally syndicated wine writer from Santa Rosa, Calif., agreed the future for Washington riesling is glowing with possibility.
"Ten years from today we're going to be wondering why we didn't plant twice as much," he said, adding that it is the variety with the greatest potential in the state.
The greatest disappointment regarding Washington wines, Berger said, is that they aren't more widely available.
And he typically is hesitant to write about wines produced in small lots because it risks frustrating his readers.
Berger is judging the Tri-Cities Wine Society's event for the first time this year and said it's an educational opportunity for him to learn about the region and its wines.
Keith Bown is another judge and is vice president of winemaking for Vincor Canada. He's judged numerous international competitions and has more than 20 years of winemaking experience.
Jim Harbertson, a Washington State University assistant professor from Prosser who specializes in wine chemistry, also is judging. He helped develop a way to analyze tannins that's been adopted internationally, according to information from the Wine Society.
The fifth judge is Eric Degerman, managing editor for Wine Press Northwest magazine and online managing editor for the Herald. He has judged several wine competitions along the West Coast.
In charge of preparing written reports for participating wineries is nonvoting judge Richard Larsen, a plant pathologist for the WSU research and extension center in Prosser. He also has experience judging for a variety of competitions.
The back-and-forth that happens around the judging tables illustrates that different people have different tastes.
"Everybody here brings something to the table -- knowledge," Wong said. "Everyone comes from different places.
"You have to check your ego at the door when you judge."
As merlot tasting continued Wednesday afternoon, the judges made faces, good-naturedly badgered each other to defend their ratings and seemed to have a great time tasting.
After giving another smell and a taste of one glass, the group opted for a gold medal.
"That is a really good wine," Berger said.
Public events:
The public tasting and silent auction for the Tri-Cities Wine Festival is 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pasco Red Lion, 2525 N. 20th Ave. Cost is $55 in advance or $60 at the door. For ticket information, call 627-1222 or go to www.tricitieswinefestival.com.
