Two Northern Michigan wineries earn major honors at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Northern Michigan draws national attention in one of North America’s largest wine judging events
Two wineries from Northern Michigan’s Traverse Wine Coast secured significant results at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, underscoring the region’s continued visibility in large-scale, blind-tasting wine evaluations. The awards were recorded in the competition’s published results, which list medal winners by category, price tier, vintage, and appellation.
Among the Northern Michigan standouts, Verterra Winery, based on the Leelanau Peninsula, earned a Best of Class designation for its 2023 Pinot Grigio in the “Pinot Gris/Grigio: $20 and over” category. In the same 2025 results set, Verterra also received a Double Gold for its 2023 Pinot Blanc in a category that includes Pinot Blanc alongside other white varieties.
French Valley Vineyard, another Leelanau Peninsula producer, also appeared in the 2025 medal tables, receiving a Gold medal for its 2023 Pinot Blanc. Both wineries’ recognitions are tied to specific wines and vintages, and were awarded within categories that group entries by varietal style and, in some cases, price range.
What the awards indicate—and what they do not
Competition results provide a snapshot of how wines performed in blind tastings against peers entered in the same category. Best of Class is awarded within a category to a top-scoring entry, while Double Gold and Gold typically reflect progressively broader recognition tiers beneath that top designation. The published tables do not provide complete sensory notes for every entry, and they do not measure market performance, consumer preference, or long-term aging potential.
Best of Class and medal awards are assigned within category groupings, meaning the recognition reflects performance against comparable entries rather than across the entire competition field.
How Northern Michigan fits into the wider competition landscape
The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is widely known for the scale of its field, with results published across numerous categories spanning varietals, styles, and price points. Northern Michigan wineries have posted strong showings in prior years, with multiple Traverse-area producers collecting dozens of medals in past editions—suggesting that the 2025 results for Verterra and French Valley are part of a longer-running pattern of competitive entries from the region.
Verterra Winery (Leelanau Peninsula): Best of Class for 2023 Pinot Grigio; Double Gold for 2023 Pinot Blanc.
French Valley Vineyard (Leelanau Peninsula): Gold for 2023 Pinot Blanc.
Why these results matter for the Traverse Wine Coast
For Northern Michigan producers, placements in a large, category-driven competition can function as an external benchmark for wines made from cool-climate fruit and cold-hardy viticulture. The 2025 honors for Verterra and French Valley place Leelanau Peninsula-labeled wines alongside medal-winning entries from major U.S. wine regions, reflecting how the Traverse Wine Coast continues to compete within national judging frameworks.