Tsillan Cellars Winery achieves success in San Francisco Chronicle wine competition

The 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest wine competition in the United States, recently concluded in San Francisco, featuring over 5,500 wines from 1,000 wineries. Tsillan Cellars, a prominent estate winery based in Lake Chelan, marked a significant achievement, emerging as a major recipient of accolades in the competition.

In the January event, Tsillan Cellars secured four Double Gold and five Gold medals. A Double Gold award signifies unanimous agreement among judges on a wine's gold medal caliber. This recognition places Tsillan Cellars at the forefront among Washington wineries in terms of the number of Double Gold and Gold medals won in the 2024 competition.

Previously, in September 2023, Tsillan Cellars also demonstrated notable success at the West Coast Wine Competition (East meets West). In this event, the winery garnered six Best of Class honors, along with a combination of twelve Double Gold and Gold medals. The 2021 Bellissima Rossa, an iconic red blend from Tsillan Cellars, received a rare perfect 100-point score.

Bob Jankelson, owner of Tsillan Cellars, commented on the winery's success, saying, “I staked my claim on the south shore of Lake Chelan 25 years ago when I first planted wine grapes. It was an unproven claim that turned into a steady producer of gold from the very first vintage in 2003. When I hired Head Winemaker, Garrett Grubbs, and Assistant Winemaker, Nic Stevens, the steady stream of gold medals turned into a veritable Gold Rush.”

Head Winemaker Garrett Grubbs expressed his sentiments, stating, “It is an immense honor and privilege to bring these accolades and gold home to the south shore of Lake Chelan for Dr. Bob. It is an ultimate dream come true to put this new elevated program together and see that honored and recognized by so many top industry peers. Being a part of Dr. Bob’s storied Tsillan Cellars, elevating the wine program to new heights and bringing more recognition to a hard fought legacy I could not be more humbled and proud.”

Tsillan Cellars begins 2024 with significant momentum, anticipating further achievements in the year ahead.