VWA Members Honored at Florida State Fair

Virginia Wineries Receive “Best of the Best” Double Gold Awards.

ALEXANDRIA, VA, FEBRUARY 24, 2006 – The 18th Annual Florida State Fair International Wine and Grape Juice Competition honored six members of the Virginia Wineries Association (VWA) earlier this month in the 18th Annual showing. The Judges handed out three Double Gold, two Gold, three Silver and eight Bronze medals to Virginia wineries. This spectacular showing at an International competition provided a further boost in publicity to the growing existence and quality of Virginia wines.

Recipients of the prestigious Double Gold or “Best of the Best” designation included: Chrysalis Vineyards, 2004 Barrel Select 100% Virginia Norton Virginia; Stone Mountain Vineyards, 2005 Chardonnay Monticello; and The Williamsburg Winery, 2004 Late Harvest Vidal Virginia. Double Gold is the highest honor bestowed by judges and signifies universal appreciation of the wine as the highest quality. With over 1,200 entries in the FGGIC, only 50 were selected for the Double Gold designation.

Wineries and Vineyards receiving gold medals included Chrysalis Vineyards and Gray Ghost Vineyards. Naked Mountain Vineyard & Winery, Stone Mountain Vineyards and The Williamsburg Winery each earned a silver medal. Bronze medal recipients included Chrysalis Vineyards, Gray Ghost Vineyards, Naked Mountain Vineyards, Stone Mountain Vineyards, Tarara Winery and The Williamsburg Winery, with both Naked Mountain and Tarara receiving multiple bronze awards.

Chris Breiner, Winemaker and Managing Partner of Stone Mountain Vineyards, and the Treasurer of the Virginia Wineries Association, said, “Our wines winning medals in international competitions supports Virginia as a leader in wine quality. Our region is rich in wine history and has an equally rich future in wine.” For a complete listing of the winning wines and their respective wineries, please visit www.fgga.org and click on “International Division” in the upper left-hand corner.

The Virginia Wineries Association, established in 1983, is a non-profit trade organization, representing the wineries of Virginia and dedicated to promoting public wine education and appreciation, wine and health research, quality wine production, market development and growth of the wine industry.