FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
February 21,
2013
RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell, who championed
major changes to the Virginia Governor's Cup competition in 2011 that made it
one of the most stringent and comprehensive wine competitions in the
United
States, awarded the 2013 Virginia Wineries
Association’s Governor's Cup to Barboursville Vineyards’ 2009 Octagon
12th Edition. By winning this year’s Governor’s Cup, Barboursville
becomes the first Virginia winery to win the award four times.
Barboursville also won in 1992 (1988 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve), 1999 (1997
Cabernet Franc), and 2007 (1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve). The Governor’s Cup
award announcement was made Thursday evening at the Virginia Wineries
Association’s Governor’s Cup Gala.
Speaking at the Governor’s
Cup awards, Governor McDonnell said, “I congratulate Luca Paschina, the Zonin
family, and the entire Barboursville team for winning this year’s Governor’s Cup
for their 2009 Octagon, one of Virginia’s most iconic red wines. Luca’s
Octagon wines are personal favorites of mine, and I know this award winning
12th Edition will make the Virginia wine industry proud now and in the
years to come. I also commend the winemakers of the other distinguished wines
that comprise this year’s Governor’s Cup Case. I am confident that wine
aficionados and enthusiasts alike will take notice of Octagon and the other
impressive offerings in this case. The advancements in Virginia winemaking are on display in every bottle we have
here tonight and the stringent requirements of the Governor’s Cup competition
ensure that Virginia wines receiving medals have been
through the most demanding evaluation process."
Barboursville’s
award-winning Octagon is a Meritage-style blend of the winery’s best Bordeaux varietals. The
wine is made only in top vintage years. The 2009 vintage is comprised of 70%
Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The
wine’s tasting notes are as follows: It has a deep garnet color, with aromas
of chocolate, red berries, cranberries, gaining further depth with tar, spice
and a touch of forest floor. Dry yet somewhat fruity, medium to full body with a
long finish of tannins. A wonderfully structured old world style red
blend.
"It has been a pleasure and
a reward to follow the evolution of the 2009 vintage of Octagon. Since harvest I
took notice of its promising characters, and I was not shy to share with many
that it was destined to be among the best wines I will ever produce in my life,"
said Luca Paschina, Barboursville’s General Manager and Winemaker. “The Virginia Governor’s Cup award is an
honor and further validates the character of a wine that has already won 90
points at Wine Enthusiast, the Gold Medal of the Beverage Testing
Institute in Chicago, of the Winemaker’s Challenge and Critics Challenge in
California, and the Platinum Medal of the Sommelier Challenge, also in
California."
The 2013 Virginia Governor’s
Cup Competition was conducted over two weeks of tasting. The preliminary
tastings were held over ten days at the Capital Wine
School in Washington DC, while the
final round of tastings was held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. The Governor's
Cup award winner was selected from the 2013 Governor's Cup Case, the top 12
scoring wines of the competition, which were selected from 377 entries of both
red and white wines, from 93 wineries.
In addition to
Barboursville’s 2009 Octagon, the other 11 wines (along with varietal
descriptions as appropriate) forming the Governor’s Cup Case include:
· Cooper Vineyards – 2010
Petite Verdot Reserve
· King Family Vineyards – 2010
Meritage
· Lovingston Winery – 2009
Josie’s Knoll Estate Reserve (Meritage)
· Philip Carter Winery – 2010
Cleve (Petite Verdot, Tannat)
· Pollak Vineyards – 2009
Cabernet Franc Reserve
· Potomac Point Vineyard and
Winery – 2010 Richland Reserve Heritage (Merlot, Cabernet
Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Petite Verdot
· Rappahannock Cellars – 2010
Meritage
· RdV Vineyards – 2010
Rendevous (Meritage)
· RdV Vineyards – 2010 Lost
Mountain (Meritage)
· Sunset Hills Vineyard – 2010
Mosaic (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite
Verdot)
· Trump Winery – 2008
Sparkling Rose (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir)
At least 10 cases of each
wine included in the Governor’s Cup Case will be used by the Virginia Wine Board
Marketing Office for marketing purposes. A number of cases will be shipped to
select wine media, promoting Virginia wines to a larger national and
international audience. The award winning wines will be used for educational
purposes at Virginia winemaker roundtable
discussions to improve overall quality of Virginia wines. Governor’s Cup Case wines will
also be used by Governor McDonnell on select domestic and international
marketing missions and other events designed to promote Virginia wine and winery
tourism.
The Governor’s Cup
competition, revamped in 2011 at the request of Governor McDonnell, is a result
of a partnership among the gubernatorial-appointed Virginia Wine Board (VWB),
the Virginia Wineries Association (VWA), which owns and manages the competition,
and the Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA). Any wine made from 100% 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% Virginia fruit and vineyard particulars, including grower names and
location, as well as information on alcohol, acidity or basicity (pH), and
residual sugar.
Jay Youmans, one of
only of 30 Masters of Wine (MW) in the U.S., directed the competition.
Youmans, who is also a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) and the owner and
educational director of the Capital
Wine School in Washington, DC, recruited wine judges from the
professional wine buying and wine media community. The judges were compensated
for their time for a rigorous schedule of judging to ensure the competition
maintained the highest level of professional evaluation. There were 45 judges in
the preliminary round and 15 judges in the final round. A list of the judges
along with their bios can be found at http://www.virginiawine.org/governors-cup
One of the most important
aspects of the revised competition is the educational component of the judging.
After the competition, regional forums for the winemakers will be held with the
judging director. Notes with the judges’ blind comments will be shared with
individual winemakers, so that they will get direct feedback on how their wines
were received.
Barboursville Vineyards is located in the Monticello American Viticulture
Area of Central Virginia, in and around the Charlottesville region. The historic Virginia winery is
located on the estate of James Barbour, former Governor of Virginia, in
Barboursville. The winery was founded in 1976 by Gianni Zonin, a prominent
Italian winemaker whose family has roots in Italian viticulture going back to
1821. The Zonin Group is based in Vicenza, Italy. Barboursville is Zonin's sole
American venture.
Sales of Virginia wine reached a
record high in fiscal year 2012 with more than 485,000 cases, or more than 5.8
million bottles, sold. Virginia currently ranks fifth in the number
of wineries in the nation with 230. Virginia is also the nation’s fifth largest
wine grape producer. According to a recently released economic impact study, the
Virginia wine industry employs more than 4,700
and contributes almost $750 million to the Virginia economy on an annual basis.
For a complete list of
previous Governor’s Cup winners and further information about the Virginia wine
industry, events, tours and tastings, please visit the Virginia Wine Marketing
Office http://www.virginiawine.org/ or call
804-344-8200.
###
Karen Batalo
804.262.9130
kabatalo@aol.com
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