Congratulations to all of the 2011 medal winners (download the full results below) and a special congrats to our two Best of Show wines:

2010 Plaisance Ranch Ginet Rosé
2008 RoxyAnn Winery Tempranillo

This year showed unprecedented participation by the wineries of Southern Oregon, with 64 participating wineries and over 200 wines submitted for judging. Tune in to this site for continuing columns, future (unannounced) events, and of course 2012's WoW Festival to learn more about Southern Oregon's World of Wine.

Southern Oregons’ World of Wine Festival supports both local art as well as a growing wine industry. The Southern Oregon World of Wine Festival has announced for 2011 that it has moved to a Jacksonville Oregon venue, and expanded from a single day event into a multiple day festival. “Jacksonville offers a more centralized location and the ability to expand, as well as being a gateway to the area’s wonderful wine regions,” said Chairman Lee Mankin. “The historically rich setting also offers numerous unique shops and restaurants that will enrich the festival, while at the same time providing much needed meeting facilities and convenient lodging.” The festival will be held the week of August 22nd, culminating in the Grand Tasting on the evening of Saturday, August 27th, hosted in the Big Tent on the Bigham Knoll Campus. You can learn more about the world of wine & buy tickets online here

The World of Wine (WOW) Festival is Southern Oregon's premier wine showcase. With Recent news that Oregon’s wine industry contributed $2.7 billion dollars to the economy, it comes as no surprise that this year over 50 wineries will participate. More than 750 people are expected to attend the grand public tasting, which accompanies a professionally judged wine competition stacked with high caliber judges.

This year the Southern Oregon World of Wine Festival released its first open call to Southern Oregon artists, seeking wine-themed visual art to be considered for its 2012 festival poster. In partnership with numerous southern Oregon art societies, local artists were challenged to submit artwork inspired by the wines & vines that cover the region that they call home. The panel of judges that gathered in mid-July included:

Joe Ginet
President of the Applegate Valley Vintners Association
World of Wine Festival Art Chairman (8yrs)

Robert Roos
President of the Jacksonville Lodging Association
Member of the Jacksonville Business Association
Commercial Arts Degree

Linda Boutacoff
Masters in Art
Watercolorist

Eight pieces were presented to the judging panel before a winner emerged. Please join the World of Wine festival in congratulating Jaime Bryn from Williams, Oregon on her winning oil on canvas piece titled “Ladybug”. All of the finalists will be available for purchase at this years’ festival silent auction, meanwhile, "Ladybug" will be held for use in the 2012 festival season's promotional material and will be auctioned off at next years festival. Looking to make your bid? Your chance to do so will be during this years Gala Dinner on Friday, August 26th. An exhibit of the winning entry and finalists will be open to the public free of charge Saturday, August 27th from 3 - 5pm in the auditorium at Bigham Knoll. During this time you can also purchase & pick up tickets for the Grand Tasting event, which follows from 5 - 9pm, when many of these winning art pieces will be presented for final bidding at the silent auction. Buyers beware, if you fall in love with Jaime's piece, you'll have to wait until next year to make your bid!

The World of Wine Festival is about celebrating our region and during the week of the event there are many other happenings being put on by our participating wineries and partners to really make this a community festival.

Click here to see more about what is happening during the World of Wine Week.

Between the Pacific Northwest’s Walla Walla region and California’s Napa Valley sits a growing wine region in southern Oregon that’s attracting worldwide interest.

Sixty minutes from the deepest, bluest lake in the United States, a mere 20 minutes from the world renown Oregon Shakespeare Festival and home to the Northwest's premiere summer long outdoor performing arts festival is the national historic landmark town of Jacksonville, Oregon. This well-preserved walk-friendly 1850's gold rush town is the new home of an annual festival celebrating southern Oregon's "World of Wine" region. 

This year’s 9th Annual World of Wine Festival celebration has outgrown the sold-out winery venue that hosted the event over the past eight years. The celebration is growing as the scenic southern Oregon region has quietly exploded into 68 wineries and a waiting-to-be-discovered region that has attracted top wine judges from around the world to this year's multi-day World of Wine Festival, held Aug. 24-27.

“The festival celebrates the wonderful experiences we have around wine,” WOW Festival Coordinator Liz Wan said. “That ranges from the sensory evaluation of the wine itself to food, entertainment, scenery and especially the people with whom we’re sharing the experience. There’s a lot to discover at the World of Wine Festival. We couldn’t squeeze it all into a single day, so this year we’re expanding the celebration.”

In an unprecedented collaboration of wineries, chambers of commerce, artists, musicians and restaurants, the festival will celebrate award-winning wines, cheeses, chocolates and chefs from across southern Oregon's vast fertile region. 

“Discover Southern Oregon’s World of Wine,” is the call to wine lovers near and far. The August festival offers an opportunity to discover the vast “world” of southern Oregon’s wines, foods, entertainment and natural scenic beauty at the center of its wine world, Jacksonville, voted one of America’s Top 10 “Coolest Small Towns” by readers of Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine.

“Visitors to southern Oregon don’t often realize how uniquely situated this award-winning wine region is,” said Lee Mankin, who serves as chairman of the World of Wine Festival. “We want them to discover our world of wine and experience the extraordinary activities and attractions that make southern Oregon so special.”

Southern Oregon’s World of Wine region has entered an era of expansion with 68 wineries and 70 varietals across the region. The 9th annual World of Wine Festival has grown with the region, moving from Del Rio Vineyards and Winery to its new larger permanent home on the historic campus of Bigham Knoll in Jacksonville (former home of Cascade Christian High School). The annual single-day event has grown this year to multiple days of celebration, Aug. 24 to 27.

“The festival celebrates the wonderful experiences we have around wine,” WOW Festival Coordinator Liz Wan said. “That ranges from sensory of the wine itself to food, entertainment, scenery and even the people with whom we’re sharing the experience. There’s a lot to discover at the World of Wine Festival. We couldn’t squeeze it all into a single day, so this year we’re expanding the celebration.”

Expanding the festival is part of a larger effort to brand southern Oregon’s wine region as a discovery destination for enthusiasts from Napa Valley, California to the Portland-Seattle region. Wine judges from England and South Africa will join notable American wine editors from Sunset and Mutineer magazines to rate southern Oregon wines.

Jacksonville is the natural setting for the expanded venue, with a walkable tourist-lined downtown district in an idyllic setting that serves as a backdrop for the famous Britt Festivals outdoor summer concerts, named after the first Oregon vintner, Peter Britt. The WOW Festival celebration will open with a cocktail reception on Aug. 24 and include a schedule of daily activities for wine enthusiasts and curiosity seekers alike (click here for a schedule). A Friday evening gala dinner will lead into Saturday’s Grand Tasting finale, on the grassy grounds of the Bigham Knoll campus, with hundreds of attendees enjoying food, entertainment and wines produced in southern Oregon.

“Visitors to southern Oregon don’t often realize how uniquely situated this award-winning wine region is,” said Lee Mankin, who serves as chairman of the World of Wine Festival. “We want them to discover our world of wine and experience the extraordinary activities and attractions that make southern Oregon so special.”

This year’s festival is a collaboration of multiple wine organizations with an open invitation to merchants around southern Oregon to participate in a showcase of foods, entertainment, scenic attractions, adventures, lodging and lifestyles that revolve around the world of wine.