Tri-Cities Wine Festival discontinued after 40+ years

RICHLAND, Wash. — After 40 historic years, the Tri-Cities Wine Society has decided to permanently discontinue the Tri-Cities Wine Festival.

According to a press release issued on Monday afternoon, the event was cancelled two years in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic. Formerly the longest-running, continuously judged wine festival in the Northwest United States, the Tri-Cities Wine Festival is being nixed in part due to an increase of independent tasting rooms and wine events across the region.

Ted Davis, President of the Tri-Cities Wine Society, announced this decision at a recent membership meeting. He offered the following comments publically:

“Closing this chapter of the wine society’s history was a difficult decision for its board of directors,” Davis said, “but we do so with a sense of pride and feelings of accomplishment as we reflect on the growth of the Northwest wine industry over the past 40-plus years and the part the festival has played by showcasing Northwest wineries and their wines. The Tri-Cities Wine Society is looking forward to continuing to do so with other events.”

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The Tri-Cities Wine Festival was founded by a local attorney and former President of the Wine Society named Coke Roth, along with Maury Balcom of Visit Tri-Cities. Formerly held in November of each year at the Pasco location of the Red Lion Inn, this annual gathering was more recently hosted by the Three Rivers Convention Center.

Davis also thanked the wineries, local businesses, volunteers, and participants who have made the event a staple of the region for the last four decades.

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