The Yakima Enological Society has finally put together the event everyone has been waiting for, our Twenty-second Platinum dinner to be held on April 20th, 2024, at the Yakima Country Club starting at 5:30 pm. During this event we will be featuring 24 Platinum award winning wines from the 2023 judging conducted in October by “Great Northwest Wine” magazine. 

We will be featuring wines from twelve wineries that won four or more Platinum awards in 2023. They are Brian Carter Cellars, Spoiled Dog Winery, Clearwater Canyon Cellars, Tsillan Cellars, Mellisoni Vineyards, Tinte Cellars, Bayernmore Cellars, Maryhill Winery, Milbrandt Vineyards, Cougar Crest Estate Winery, Gehringer Brothers Estate Vineyards, and Jones of Washington.

This year we want to welcome Fortuity Cellars from Wapato, Washington. This was their first year to enter the Platinum judging and they came away with a Double Platinum medal. Also, joining us for the evening is Liberty Lake Wine Cellars from Liberty Lake, WA. which was a first-time winner last year and took home three Platinum awards this year and was the 2022 Washington Winery to Watch. Another winery new to our event but unable to attend is Koenig Vineyards from Caldwell, Idaho.

In the 2023 judging, there were 726 Gold Medal winning wines entered and only 50 (7%) were awarded a Double Platinum. We will be serving 17 Double Platinum winners or almost 35% of those awarded at our dinner this evening.

The evening will start with the Winemakers Reception where we will enjoy eight great Double Platinum wines paired with passed appetizers, including Dungeness Crab Tater Tots, Smoked Salmon Caviar, and Royal Prime Beef Meatballs as we meet and honor the personnel from the award-winning wineries. Following the reception, we will enjoy a five-course meal, each course paired with Platinum winning wines. The First course will be Fresh Alaskan Halibut with a pea risotto paired with three Rieslings. The second course will be Duck Confit Spaetzle paired with three Viogniers. The third course will be a Pork Ribeye with potato/zucchini cake along with three great Carmeneres. The fourth course will be Kagoshima Japanese Wagyu Strip with roasted wild mushrooms accompanied by three Cabernet Sauvignons. We will finish the night with Petit Fours and chocolate covered fruit with a Riesling Ice Wine.

We will have both a silent auction during the reception with beautiful baskets and Platinum award winning wine lots and a live auction during the course of the evening with wines, dinners, and seats at the 2024 Platinum judging. Although credit cards are welcome at our event to pay for auction purchases, the Platinum committee still recommends payment by check to avoid the 3% surcharge we must include to cover the credit card fees charged to YES. Proceeds from past Platinum dinners have allowed the Yakima Enological Society to donate over $140,000 in scholarships to Pacific Northwest college wine programs. 

For our out-of-town guests, we recommend that you make hotel reservations as soon as possible since many events are scheduled that weekend in Yakima. 

This year the ticket price will remain at $175 per person since we were able to keep ticket prices the same as last year. Tickets can be purchased at Stems Wine Shop in downtown Yakima, or you can mail in the reservation form at the end of this newsletter. They may also be purchased online at our website: yakimawine.org. Don’t wait!!! Seating is limited and this event fills fast.

                                          See You There

Platinum Committee