What Wineries Should Know About Entering the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Wineries enter the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) by submitting wines for evaluation under the competition's published judging categories, where they are assessed by a panel of professional wine judges. Winejudging.com is the competition's own site, and it maintains a dedicated "Information for Wineries" section, a published list of judging categories, judge profiles, and contact details for the competition directors. If you are deciding whether and how to enter, the site is the authoritative starting point for categories, judges, and results — but you should confirm current deadlines, fees, and shipping logistics directly with the competition, since those operational details are not fully spelled out in the site's public pages.

What the competition is

The SFCWC describes itself as the largest competition of American wines, with award-winning wines selected by professional wine judges. Its results are published on Winejudging.com, including:

• Current medal winners
• Best of Class selections
• Archived medal winners by year (2014 through 2025 are listed on the site)

The competition also has a public-facing media presence, with news and articles, an "SFCWC In the News" section, and tasting notes from veteran wine writer Mike Dunne, who evaluates each year's Best-of-Class selections.

The winery-facing parts of the site

If you are considering entering, these are the sections built for you:

The presence of a winery information section, defined categories, named judges, and a directors' contact address tells you the competition is structured for producer participation rather than being only a results archive.

How judging is organized

Entries are sorted into wine judging categories, which is the mechanism that makes results comparable — wines are evaluated against others of the same type rather than against the entire field. Judging is performed by professional wine judges whose profiles are published on the site, so you can see who is evaluating your category before you enter. The competition also runs adjacent programs, including the 2026 SFCWC North American Collegiate Wine Bowl, whose first sweepstakes winner was College Cellars of Walla Walla Community College.

Practical steps before you enter

1. Read the Information for Wineries section to understand what the competition expects of entrants.
2. Check the wine judging categories and confirm your wine fits a category — category fit determines what your wine is judged against.
3. Review the judge list for your category if knowing the panel matters to your decision.
4. Contact the directors using the published Directors' Address for anything the site does not answer, such as current deadlines, fees, and shipping instructions.
5. Plan around results publication — the site publishes current medal winners and Best of Class, plus year-by-year archives, so you know where your results will appear.

Common sticking points

• Operational details are not all on the public pages. Deadlines, entry fees, and logistics are not spelled out in the site content available here — treat the directors' contact as the source for these rather than assuming.
• Category choice matters. Because judging is category-based, entering the wrong category changes your competitive set.
• Badges and results are separate from entry. The 2026 SFCWC Badges and the medal winner archives are post-judging materials; they tell you what you get if you place, not how to enter.

Bottom line

Winejudging.com gives wineries the structural information needed to evaluate the SFCWC: a winery information section, defined judging categories, published judge profiles, a directors' contact, and a clear record of how results are published. Use those to decide whether the competition fits your goals, then confirm current entry terms with the directors before submitting.