Gov. Ralph Northam recently awarded the Virginia Wineries Association’s 2021 Governor’s Cup to Barboursville Vineyards for their 2015 Paxxito. Eleven other wines received top honors, comprising the Governor’s Cup Case.
The Virginia Governor’s Cup, hosted by the Virginia Wineries Association in partnership with the Virginia Wine Board and the Virginia Vineyards Association, is one of the most stringent wine competitions in the U.S. A panel of 22 judges, directed by Jay Youmans, one of only 53 Masters of Wine (MW) in the U.S., reviewed the record-setting 544 wines in the competition this year. They conducted a blind sampling and scored the wines in multiple rounds over a four-week period to confirm the winner.
Gold medals were awarded to 96 wines that scored 90 points or higher. Wines scoring 85-89 points earned silver medals; and 80-84, bronze. All wines in the Governor’s Cup competition must be made from 100% Virginia fruit.
Two Northern Neck vineyards won….