Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVV), a leading Pinot Noir producer in Oregon, was honored with two "Best of Class | Judges' Choice" awards on Jan. 8 at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The wine competition was held at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County, Calif.

Both the 2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling and the 2007 Elton Vineyard Pinot Noir received the coveted Best of Class awards. Additionally, a Gold medal went to the 2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris.

Two other Oregon wineries received the competition's "Best of Class | Judges' Choice" honor, including the 2008 Solena Pinot Gris and the 2007 Eddy Family Wines Pinot Noir.

Jim Bernau, founder and president of WVV, said these awards are a major accomplishment for WVV as well as for the entire state.

"The top honors are a testament to the quality wines we produce throughout the state of Oregon," he noted.

Over five days, 63 professional wine experts within the media, restaurant and hospitality, education, winemaking, and retail wine industries tasted and evaluated a world-record-breaking 4,913 entries. The record-breaking number of entries makes this competition the world's largest competition of American wines.

Willamette Valley Vineyards was founded in 1983 by Bernau after an inspirational visit to the west-to-south-facing slope of volcanic flow near the state capitol, Salem, where the winery is now situated. Best known for its acclaimed Pinot Noir, WVV wines are distributed throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim. WVV manages 300 acres of vines, which are all certified sustainable, LIVE and Salmon Safe. As Oregon's only publicly held winery, the winery is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol WVVI. For more information, call 800-344-9463 or visit www.wvv.com.