Charlottesville, Va., March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) is excited to announce that members of the Monticello Wine Trail accounted for nearly half of all gold medals awarded in this year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition. Of the nearly 100 gold medals awarded in the competition, 48 were given to wines from members of the Monticello Wine Trail. Wines entered into the Governor’s Cup competition must be made from 100% Virginia fruit and be subjected to a thorough and stringent judging process over a four-week period. Nearly 450 Virginia wines were entered into this year’s competition.
The top twelve wines comprising the prestigious Governor’s Case were announced by Governor Ralph Northam and several state wine officials at an event in Richmond on February 27. Seven of these twelve wines were produced by wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail. Wineries from the Trail which received this high honor include Barboursville Vineyards, Early Mountain Vineyards, Jefferson Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, King Family Vineyards, and Veritas Vineyard and Winery. King Family Vineyards took home the top prize, receiving the coveted 2018 Governor’s Cup for its 2014 Meritage wine.
George Hodson, President of the Monticello Wine Trail, said “We are extremely proud of the Wineries, Winemakers and Grape Growers of the Monticello AVA. Despite only representing around 10% of Virginia's wineries, the Monticello AVA received almost half of the Competition's Gold medals, just over half of the wines in the Governor's Case, and produced the overall winner. We look forward to continuing our commitment to producing world class wines right here in central Virginia!”
The Monticello Wine Trail is an association of 33 wineries surrounding Charlottesville, Virginia in the counties of Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Nelson and Orange and is a subsidiary of the Jeffersonian Wine Grape Growers Society (JWGGS). The mission of the JWGGS is to support its members and promote quality grapes and wine produced in the Monticello American Viticultural Area.
The Charlottesville area has received numerous accolades over the years, including being recently named as “one of the top wine destinations in the world” by Wine Enthusiast.