MEDFORD, Ore.–The Oregon Wine Experience® is thrilled to announce the complete panel of renowned judges secured for the 2019 Oregon Wine Competition®. This is the first year that sommeliers will join the judges table. In addition to prestigious wine certifications from around the world, each of the judges is a respected educator in the world of wine, and their contributions range from authorship and consultation to patent and business ownership.

Entries for the Oregon Wine Competition® are currently open. Oregon wineries that produce wine with 100% Oregon AVA grapes are eligible to enter up to five wines.

The submission deadline is Friday, June 7, 2019. The Oregon Wine Competition® will be held on July 20 and 21, 2019 at the Ashland Hills Hotel and Suites in Ashland, Oregon. Judges will be available for media interviews during the competition weekend.                                                                

The judges for the 2019 Oregon Wine Competition® include:

• Maximillian Kast, MS -Max Kast received the coveted designation of Master Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2018. Currently he works with Broadbent Selections, where he promotes their diverse portfolio of family-owned global boutique wineries.

• Deborah Parker Won, DWSET-Deborah Park Wong is Global Wine Editor for SOMM Journal, The Tasting Panel and Clever Root magazines. Serves as an adjunct professor in the wine studies program at Santa Rosa Junior College and Cabrillo College. She holds the Wine and Spirits Education Trust Diploma.

• Peter Marks, MW-Peter Marks entered the retail wine trade in 1981 and has worked as Wine Director for Draeger’s Supermarkets, Chief Wine Merchant at wine.com, Wine Director at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, and currently Vice President of Education at Constellation Brands. He teaches wine classes and is a member of Society of Wine Educators. He completed his Master of Wine in 1995 through the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Note: Master of Wine (MW) is the most prestigious title in the world of wine and is issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine. There are currently only 383 Masters of Wine in 30 countries.

Note: Master Sommelier (MS) is issued by The Court of Master Sommeliers. There are only 273 Master Sommelier professionals worldwide.