NEARLY 300 WINES VIE FOR TOP HONORS IN 2004 VIRGINIA GOVERNOR’S CUP WINE COMPETITION
10 Gold, 68 Silver and 120 Bronze Medals Awarded

Contact: Nan Johnson (804) 358-8011
nanjohnson@dsignr.com
Mary Davis-Barton (804) 371-7685

June 3, 2004 RICHMOND, VA -- From of a field of nearly 300 entries in this year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup competition, 189 medals of distinction and the coveted Governor’s Cup have been awarded to the most outstanding Virginia wines.

Mr. Yogi Barrett, executive vice president of Tasters Guild International and Virginia Governor’s Cup judging committee chair, gathered 32 judges on Saturday, May 8, to choose the best from the best in the 22nd Annual Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition. “The judges were extremely impressed with the overall quality and variety of Virginia’s wines.”

The judging took place in neutral territory -- Washington, DC – where restaurateurs, master sommeliers, wine buyers, wine writers and consumers swirled and savored their way through 290 entries from wineries across Virginia.

“Virginia has made huge strides,” says Carol Emert, wine columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. “Especially with reds.” Judging, she says, was a great opportunity to taste the state’s wines in a comprehensive way.

Dan Berger, internationally known wine writer and syndicated columnist based in Sonoma County California, “saw the potential for Virginia to make world-class wine” in 1989 when he first judged in the Virginia wine competition.

“I was pleasantly surprised this time – 15 years later – to note that it wasn’t just a handful of wineries that were making sound wine; almost everyone was,” Berger notes. “Wine making has improved markedly. Moreover, I was impressed by many of the wines for their distinctive style. Some of the reds (notably from the Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, and even a number of hybrids) were exciting, and truly worthy of world-class status.”

Six of the ten gold medal-winning wines and the Governor’s Cup winner come from wineries in the Charlottesville area. So it comes as no surprise that David King, of King Family Vineyards, whose 2002 Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc was awarded the Governor’s Cup, says “there are a lot of nice wineries making nice wine” in his part of the state.

But Charlottesville isn’t the only award-winning grape growing region of Virginia, from North to East to South to Central, virtually all regions of Virginia have produced wines worthy of medals in this year’s competition. (See a complete list of 2004 Governor’s Cup medal winners)

The Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition is a program of the Virginia Wineries Association. Virginia’s dynamic wine industry has experienced rapid expansion in recent years, making it one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the state. In 1979, there were only six wineries in Virginia. By 1994, the number had grown to 43. Today, there are more than 85 wineries and 250 grape producers in the Commonwealth and the industry continues to expand.

Visit Virginia’s wineries on the web at www.virginiawines.org or call 1-800-VA-VINES (828-4637) for further information about events, tours and tastings.

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