The Virginia Governor's Cup Gala took place on February 21 in Richmond, Virginia's Capital. At the event, Governor Terry McAuliffe awarded the 2017 Virginia Wineries Association’s (VWA) Governor's Cup to The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards for their 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards Wins 2017 Virginia Governor's Cup
Speaking at the Governor’s Cup awards ceremony, Governor McAuliffe said, “I’m excited to see The Barns at Hamilton Station Cabernet Sauvignon win this year’s Governor’s Cup. Andrew and Maryann Fialdini are seeing the results of eight years of planning and hard work come to fruition. My congratulations to them on this outstanding wine and for their success with their winery.”
The winning Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied wine with well-balanced acidity. It is aged in French and American oak and expresses notes of dark cherry and coffee. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is complemented by a soft tannic structure that is integrated with the fruit. Clove and tobacco notes add complexity and extend through the finish.
Andrew Fialdini stated, “We are honored to be among the Virginia wineries who have won the Governor’s Cup in previous years. After years in government service, my wife and I were looking to start a second career where we could work the land. This experience has surpassed all our expectations. We are very proud of this Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2014 vintage was a special one and we knew we wanted to develop a wine that was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with the fruit from this vintage.”
"Our team is especially proud of this wine. It is a classic Virginia Cabernet Sauvignon. Perfectly balanced, and has mature tannins that are ripe but not overly extracted; and it has nice acidity.” said Michael Shaps, the winemaker for the winning wine. “The fruit comes from mostly Carter’s Mountain with some additional fruit from Mount Juliet vineyards. Carter’s Mountain has southwest exposure, constant breezes, great drainage and a slightly cooler climate to retain nature acidity.”
The 2017 Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition was conducted over four weeks of preliminary tastings, held at the Capital Wine School in Washington, D.C in January. The final round of tastings was held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia the last week of January.
The Governor's Cup award winner was selected from the 2017 Governor's Cup Case, a selection of the top 12 scoring wines chosen from 494 entries of both red and white wines, from 102 wineries. Now in its 35th year, the competition was revamped in 2012 to become one of the most stringent and thorough wine competitions in the country.
See: A New Winery in Virginia - The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, USA
2017 Virginia Governor's Cup Case
In addition to the winner, 11 other wines are included in the Governor’s Cup Case. The official 2017 case includes:
Barboursville Vineyards 2013 Paxxito
Barboursville Vineyards on facebook: The Virginia Wineries Association’s Governor’s Cup wine awards were announced this week, and again one of our leading wines - Paxxito 2013 - was selected for the Governor’s Case of the 12 wines the judges awarded their highest rating, and another longtime favorite, Cabernet Franc Reserve 2014, was also awarded the Gold Medal, matching its success at the San Francisco Chronicle competition, the Beverage Testing Institute, and in The Wine Advocate. Overall, the vineyards and wineries of the Monticello Wine Trail drew especially strong recognition among this year’s entries, and we extend our congratulations to all who participated.
Breaux Vineyards 2012 Meritage
Horton Vineyards 2015 Viognier
Ingleside Vineyards, 2014 Petit Verdot
Jefferson Vineyards, 2014 Petit Verdot
King Family Vineyards, 2014 Loreley
King Family Vineyards, 2014 Petit Verdot
Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2014 Meritage
Valley Road Vineyards, 2014 Petit Verdot
Veritas Vineyard and Winery, 2014 Petit Manseng
Veritas Vineyard and Winery, 2014 Petit Verdot Paul Shaffer 6th Edition
Patterns emerged with this year’s awards. Eight red blends received golds, including Bordeaux blends, among others. Unique to this year’s competition, five 2014 Virginia Petit Verdots were among the top scoring wines. This will excite Virginia Petit Verdot fans who have been cheering for this grape’s growth in Virginia. Also among the top scoring wines this year were 3 dessert wines, two made from Petit Manseng. A Virginia Viognier, two Bordeaux style blends and the winning Cabernet Sauvignon round out the 2017 Governor’s Cup Case.
The Governor’s Cup competition is a result of a partnership among the gubernatorial-appointed Virginia Wine Board (VWB), the Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA), and the VWA, which owns and manages the competition. Any wine made from 100% Virginia fruit was eligible for the competition. All entries included an affidavit with a certification of 100% Virginia fruit and vineyard particulars, including grower names and location, as well as information on alcohol, acidity or basicity (pH), and residual sugar.
2017 Governor's Cup Gold Medalists
Barboursville Vineyards
2013 Paxxito
2014 Cabernet Franc
Breaux Vineyards Ltd.
2012 Meritage
2014 Meritage
Cardinal Point Winery
2014 Union
CrossKeys Vineyards
2015 Cabernet Franc
Horton Vineyards
2015 Viognier
Ingleside Vineyards
2014 Petit Verdot
Jefferson Vineyards
2012 Meritage
2014 Petit Verdot
King Family Vineyards
NV Brut (sparkling wine)
2014 Loreley
King Family Vineyards
2014 Petit Verdot
Michael Shaps
2014 Meritage
2014 Cabernet Franc
Pollak Vineyards
2013 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Sunset Hills Vineyard
2012 Mosaic
The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
2014 Meritage
Upper Shirley Vineyards
2014 Zachariah
Valley Road Vineyards
2014 Petit Verdot
Veritas Vineyards & Winery
2014 Petit Manseng
2014 Petit Verdot Paul Shaffer 6th Edition
Wine Producer Virginia
Virginia is the 5th largest wine industry in the US, with nearly 300 wineries and over 3,500 acres of vineyards. In the original charter of the thirteen colonies was a royal commission to pursue three luxury items that England was unable to provide for itself: wine, silk, and olive oil. Every colony made attempts to satisfy the requirements of its charter. Despite many years of failure, the early Americans persisted in their efforts. A big step forward was made in 1740 when a natural cross pollination occurred between a native American grape and a European vitis vinifera. Other successful crossings followed.
In 1762, John Carter, who had 1,800 vines growing at Cleve Plantation, sent 12 bottles to the Royal Society of Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacture and Commerce in London for their evaluation. Minutes of their meeting on the 20th of October 1762 declared Carter’s wines to be “excellent” and a decision was taken to reward Carter’s efforts with a gold medal for his wines. These were the first internationally recognized fine wines produced in America.
Over the past 30 years or so, Virginia wines have experienced a tremendous development - to elegant and balanced, mostly European vinifera-based wines. Recently, Donald Trump as well as AOL founder Steve Case bought a Virginia winery.
Today, the vitis vinifera grapes Chardonnay and Viognier are the leading white varieties. Increasingly they are made without any or with neutral oak, to retain natural acidity and freshness. It appears Viognier is on its way to becoming Virginia’s official “signature grape”.
For French-American hybrid varieties, Seyval Blanc is still popular, but resembles now the fresh and crisp wines from France’s South West. Vidal has become the backbone of the artificially frozen (cryoextraction), ice wine which I am not a great fan of. Cryoextraction is an approach, developed by the French, which kind of simulates the frost in the vineyard in the wine cellar.
As far as red wines are concerned, there has been a shift from straight varietal wines to blends, with the blends now being dominated by Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Mirroring the Virginia white wines, there is an increasing focus on neutral oak and clean, vibrant fruit.
Tannat, Uruguay’ signature grape from the South West of France, is showing up in more Virginia wines, usually as a blend. The only red French American hybrid which has performed consistently well in Virginia is Chambourcin, which resembles the Gamay grape of Beaujolais.
Finally, Claude Thibault, a native from France, has taken Virginia sparkling wines to a new level. His NV Thibault-Janisson Brut, made from 100 percent Chardonnay, is as close as you can get to Champagne outside of France.
See:
American Wines with French Roots: The Wines President Obama Served at the State Dinner for President Hollande, USA/France
As Close as You Can Get to (French) Champagne at the US East Coast – Claude Thibaut and His Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar
Claude Thibault of Thibault Janisson – an Ultra-premium Sparkling Wine Producer in Virginia, USA - at American Wine Society (Northern Virginia Chapter)
Previous Virginia Governor's Cup Competitions
Virginia's Best Wines: 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup, USA
Virginia's Best Wines: 2015 Virginia Governor's Cup, USA
Virginia's Best Wines: 2014 Virginia Wineries Governor’s Cup, USA
Governor’s Cup Competition 2013, Virginia, USA
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