Photo courtesy of Horton Vineyards
Horton Vineyards of Gordonsville earned two gold medals – for its Suil, a nonvintaged sparkling wine made from Viognier grapes, and its 2017 Stonecastle Red, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tannat, Syrah, and Pinotage grapes.
The newest class of Virginia’s top wines has been revealed, and the record-breaking results of the state’s premier wine competition highlight the continuing growth of the industry and the increasing quality of the wine it produces.
The Virginia Governor's Cup, one of the most stringent competitions in the country, is hosted each year by the Virginia Wineries Association, in partnership with the Virginia Wine Board and the Virginia Vineyards Association.
This year, after evaluating more than 625 entries, a panel of world-class judges awarded 155 gold medals – 149 for wines and six for ciders. They went to 87 wineries, cideries and meaderies across the Commonwealth.
You can find a complete list of all the medal-winning wines on the Virginia Wine website.
The next stage in the competition will be March 13 at the Virginia Governor’s Cup Gala in Richmond. At that event, the top 12 wines comprising this year’s Governor’s Cup Case will be unveiled, culminating in one wine being selected as winner of the prestigious Governor’s Cup.
Tickets for that event are on sale here.
The number of entries in this year’s competition was down slightly from 2024, but the number of those entries earning a gold medal was the highest in the 43 years the competition has been held, according to Frank Morgan, director of judging for the annual competition.
The wines were evaluated during two rigorous rounds of judging, each lasting three days. This year, the number of judges was expanded, with 18 judges for the preliminary round and 12 judges for the final round. They represented a diverse cross-section of wine professionals, including four Masters of Wine (MW) and a Master Sommelier (MS), both of which are the highest certifications in the industry, along with notable wine directors and restaurant sommeliers, wine shop owners and accomplished wine writers and content creators.
“Overall entries went down this year because we limited the number of entries for each winery, cidery and meadery to a maximum of six wines, ciders, meads,” Morgan explained. “We made this change to bring more focus to the competition and help wineries be more intentional about the wines they entered.”
The results of that change speak for themselves with both a record number of gold medals and a lower percentage of bronze medals. “More nuanced wines showed better this year,” Morgan said.
Photo courtesy of Chrysalis Vineyards
Northern Virginia wineries received nearly a third of the gold medals. Among them was Chrysalis Vineyards of Middleburg, which was honored for its 2022 Bull Run Mountain Cuvée, made from the Norton grape variety. Pictured are founder and owner Jennifer McCloud and winemaker Jake Blodinger.
Here’s a breakdown of this year’s winning wines:
Wine regions: Gold medalists represented eight wine regions across the Commonwealth. Central Virginia scored about half the gold medals, with Northern Virginia following at 29 percent and the Shenandoah Valley at 12 percent.
Wine style: Red wines dominated the competition, earning 61% of all gold medals.
Grape varietals: Gold medals went to wines made from 23 grape varieties. Red blends garnered 40 gold medals. That was followed by Petit Verdot with 16 gold medals, Cabernet Franc with 15, and Chardonnay with 11.
Wine vintages: The gold medal wines spanned seven vintages, representing the year the grapes were harvested, ranging from 2017 to 2023.
Apple cider: In addition to the winning wines, Virginia ciders claimed 6 gold medals. One of those will be named Cider of the Year at the Governor’s Cup Gala.
