The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) is one of the world's largest, annually highlighting top California wines.

The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge is a premier regional competition evaluating over 1,100 wines from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, and Solano counties.

The Sommelier Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition is a prestigious, double-blind judging event held annually in San Diego, California. Founded by Robert Whitley, it features expert sommeliers evaluating entries, with results often published on WineReviewOnline.com

The Foothill Wine Fest Competition is a professional, blind-judging event designed to showcase wines made from grapes grown in the 10 California Sierra Foothill AVAs. It awards Bronze to Double Gold medals for quality and character, highlighting top wines like Best Red, White, and Sparkling to drive recognition for local wineries.

The California State Fair Wine Competition, established in 1854, is America's oldest wine judging event. Held in Sacramento, this competition evaluates professional California-grown wines by region and style, awarding medals based on quality.

The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition is a prestigious, annual California-only wine contest run by the Orange County Wine Society. It is one of the largest, featuring over 2,500 entries judged by professionals in a double-blind format. It serves as a major platform for CA winemakers to gain recognition, featuring no entry fees and supporting student scholarships.

The 50th Annual OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition will be held May 30th and 31st, 2026 at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa. The OC Wine Society and the OC Fair and Event Center sponsor the largest California-only wine competition in the world. There are no entry fees and the wines are judged by professional winemakers or winery principals. Wines are cataloged by varietal, price and sugar levels.

The East Meets West Wine Competition is an annual, Santa Rosa-based event presented by Wine & Spirit Competitions Management Productions that pits winners of two distinct divisions against each other: the International Eastern Wine Competition (running since 1975) and the West Coast Wine Competition. It serves as a, "taste-off" showcasing how wines from the Eastern US, West Coast, and global regions perform against each other.