Virginia Governor Ralph Northam awarded the 2019 Virginia Wineries Association’s (VWA) Governor's Cup to Horton Vineyards for their 2016 Petit Manseng at the 2019 Governor’s Cup Gala. The Gala took place Tuesday evening, February 26, at the Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia.
All wines competing in the Governor’s Cup competition must be made from 100 percent Virginia fruit. The Petit Manseng marks Horton’s first Governor’s Cup winning wine.
“It is my pleasure to award this honor to Sharon Horton and her entire winery and vineyard team, including winemakers Michael Heny and Andrew Reagan,” said Governor Northam. “Horton Vineyards is among Virginia’s true wine pioneers renowned for first growing many of the varieties that have taken hold in Virginia. In addition to the winning wine, the eleven wines included in the 2019 Governor’s Cup Case highlight the outstanding quality of wines being produced within our Commonwealth.”
Horton Vineyards’ 2016 Petit Manseng is composed of 90 percent Petit Manseng, 5 percent Viognier and 5 percent Rkatsiteli grapes. The wine is 100 percent estate-grown including their Berry Hill vineyard fruit. All fruit was hand-harvested and underwent whole cluster press. Fermentation occurred in 90 percent French oak and 10 percent stainless steel. Tasting notes state that the wine shows intensity and an explosion of flavors across the palate with a lingering acidic finish.
“This year’s case winner is especially exciting for both Horton Vineyards and the Virginia wine industry as a whole,” commented Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. “It is rare for a white wine to win the Governor’s Cup and it is the first time a Petit Manseng has been the overall winner. Also significant is that three of the wines in this year’s case are made with Petit Manseng grapes. This underscores a reoccurring pattern of many outstanding wines in Virginia being produced from lesser known varietals.”
The case is comprised of the top 12 scoring wines chosen from more than 500 entries coming from 102 wineries. The esteemed panel of judges was directed by Jay Youmans – one of only 51 Masters of Wine (MW) in the U.S. The panel diligently ranked each wine according to a unified scoring system.
Alongside Horton Vineyards’ 2016 Petit Manseng, the 11 wines included in the 2019 Governor’s Cup Case are:
Barboursville Vineyards 2017 Vermentino Reserve
Early Mountain Vineyards 2016 Eluvium
Glen Manor Vineyards 2015 Cabernet Franc
King Family Vineyards 2016 Mountain Plains
King Family Vineyards 2016 Meritage
Paradise Springs Winery 2015 Meritage
Virginia Wine Works 2016 Hamlet Vineyards Eltham
Virginia Wine Works 2016 Michael Shaps Petit Manseng
Virginia Wine Works 2016 Michael Shaps Raisin d’Etre White
Virginia Wine Works 2015 Michael Shaps Tannat
Virginia Wine Works 2014 Upper Shirley Zachariah
Within the case, there is wide representation from all parts of the state including Central, Northern, Southern and Eastern Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley. This broad geographical diversity highlights Virginia winemakers’ ability to listen to their land and navigate the state’s varied landscape and conditions.
Virginia winemakers have developed a fluency in reading the signs from their soil and growing distinctive varietals that have found a home in Virginia. A testament to this is the variety of wines in this year’s case: three Petit Mansengs, a Tannat, a Cabernet Franc, a Vermentino and six red blends.
Now in its 36th year, the 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 percent Virginia fruit was eligible for the competition, while ciders and fruit wines had their own category and medalists. All entries included an affidavit with a certification of 100 percent Virginia fruit and vineyard particulars, including grower names and location.
According to a 2017 economic impact study, the Virginia wine industry employs more than 8,200 people and contributes almost $1.37 billion to the Virginia economy on an annual basis. Nationwide, Virginia is in the top six states in number of wineries and wine grape production. More than 2.2 million tourists visited Virginia wineries in 2015.
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.
Virginia Wines in Germany
Annette and Christian Schiller already presented 2 Virginia Governor's Cup Cases - 2016 and 2017 - in Germany. Both tastings took place in Frankfurt.
Virginia Governor's Cup Case 2016
The first tasting - of the 2016 case - took place in 2017 and included Riesling and German wine expert Stuart Pigott, star winemaker Uwe Lützkendorf, Wolgang Junglas, President of FIJEV (International Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers), wine retailer Armin Busch, wine tour organizer Annette Schiller and myself. See: Tasting the Best of Virginia Wines in Frankfurt, Germany, with Stuart Pigott: Virginia Governor's Cup Case 2016
Though Stuart Pigott is mostly known as Riesling and German wine expert, the by far most comprehensive assessment of the wines of Virginia recently is the in-depth article by Stuart Pigott on JamesSuckling.com in 2017. For an introduction go to Stuart Pigott's website.
Virginia Governor's Cup Case 2017
The second tasting - of the 2017 case - took place in 2019. By accident, I received 2 cases in Frankfurt. As a result, we decided not to have the tasting at our residence in Frankfurt with a limited group of tasters, as in the year before, but to have it in a restaurant in Frankfurt with a larger group, charge an entrance fee and offer a meal. We capped the attendance at 36, inluding Annette and me.
The tasting was led by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, with a power-point presentation.
Jürgen Lüttges, President of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, gave a most interesting talk about President Jefferson's wine tours in Europe, when he was Ambassador in Paris.
Paula Sidore of Weinstory (Providing German-English language logistics for and from the wine industry: translation, tasting notes, and copywriting) shared with us her experience from Horton Vineyards, where she worked earlier in her career.
Tasting Top Virginia Wines in Frankfurt, Germany: Virginia Governor's Cup Case 2017
Previous Virginia Governor's Cup Competitions
Virginia's Best Wines: 2018 Virginia Governor's Cup Competition, USA
Virginia's Best Wines: 2017 Governor‘s Cup Gala in Richmond, Virginia, USA
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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