Ohio Wine Competion 2026

Dear Ohio A2/A2F Permit Holder:

The Ohio State University’s enology program is excited to be collaborating with the Ohio Grape Industries Committee (OGIC) to coordinate the 2026 Ohio Wine Competition! Dr. Lisa Dunlap at OSU will serve as the Competition Director. We have decided to partner with Enofile for registration and Competition organization structure, as we are all dedicated to making the registration process and Competition Day run as easily and efficiently as possible. The registration fee for this year’s Competition will be $20/entry.

This year’s Competition will once again select the “Best Ohio-Grown Wine” from the group of OQW designees. The competition will continue to present “Best of Show” awards for the overall best of show, white, red, blush/rosé, fruit, sparkling, and dessert wines from the competition entries. Concordance gold, gold, silver, and bronze medals, as well as corresponding bottle stickers (except for double gold) will be provided to award-winning wines.

The Competition will take place May 19-20, 2026, at the Hilton Garden Inn – Wooster. The OGIC will be acquiring an F3 temporary liquor permit, which will allow the three (3) bottles of each wine entered in the Competition to be donated.

To continue to improve wine quality throughout the state, the Competition will also offer chemical analysis; however, note these results will not be available until late summer/early fall, because the chemical analysis process requires a lot of time when evaluating 500+ wines. The Competition will also offer judges’ comments, when available, on the wines entered in the 2026 Competition in an effort to continue to provide an educational component for you, our winemakers.

To enter the 2026 Ohio Wine Competition, we ask that you please register through Enofile at enofileonline.com/landing.aspx?competitionID=3128 and pay by check made out to The Ohio State University and “Ohio Wine Competition” written on the memo line and mailed to Dr. Dunlap at the address noted below for entries or with a credit card online using the Cvent link provided during the registration process through Enofile.

You will need to ship OR SCHEDULE A DROP OFF three (3) bottles of each wine entered to Dr. Dunlap’s attention at the following address – OSU, Gourley Hall, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, no later than Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

Late entries will not be accepted this year due to the high volume of entries submitted the past two years, as well as the time it takes for the coordinators to inventory and categorize all of the wines entered.