Barboursville Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2001 has just become the first Virginia wine to win the Gold Medal in the annual Old Ebbitt Grill "International Wines for Oysters" competition

November 24, 2002
Contact: Pamela Jewell
Virginia Wine Marketing Office
Phone: 804-786-0481
pjewell@vdacs.state.va.us

RICHMOND, VA – Barboursville Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2001, hailed as "Best in Show" at the Virginia Winegrowers Competition last August, has just become the first Virginia wine to win the Gold Medal in the annual "International Wines for Oysters" competition sponsored by the Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington D.C.

The annual competition culminated in the traditional "Oyster Riot" held at the Grill over two successive evenings, November 22 and 23, in which over 1,500 Washingtonians turned out to sample the 10 winning wines from a worldwide field of more than 450. The only other wine from the United States to place in this select group was a Sauvignon Blanc from Napa, with the other winners coming from New Zealand and France.