The 2026 Virginia Governor’s Cup Medals

It’s that time of year! The judging of Virginia Wines submitted for the Governor’s Cup contest for 2026 is over, the tabulations are done, and the medals have been awarded.  

I have a curious relationship with this competition.  When I started writing this blog, many of the wines I adored were overlooked or even rated poorly in the competition. I didn’t care, because these were wines that gave me what I wanted. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of winemakers, taste a ton of Virginia Wine, and even met a few of the judges involved in the competition.  This year the medalists continue the trend of including more of my favorite Virginia wines than prior years. I still remain on team “find the wines you love and drink them,” and respectfully skeptical of experts who tell us what wine should taste like.  But over the past few years, I see more of what I enjoy on this list.

The Data Dump

The list dropped while I was dealing with work emergencies, but the Wine Friend™ chat was blowing up with data analysis.  It takes a ton of time to digest the list so I’m glad I have people in my life who really dig into the data.  Here are a few interesting points they’ve found:

• Gold Rush: 224 of the 667 submissions received a Gold.  That’s a high percentage. Last year 25% of submissions received gold, and that was record territory.
• Team 2023: 82 of the 224 golds were 2023 vintage wines. The power of 2023.
• Resubmit Central: 44 of the gold medals were repeat submissions, with 17 having earned gold previously.  Is that a sign of how much back inventory winemakers have?

Personal Highlights and Wines I Know and Love:

There were a number of wineries I frequent earning gold medals this year.  Here is a sample:

• Hark Vineyards They were the showstopper with FIVE Gold Medals!  AJ is completely rocking the winemaking here.  You know the 23 Cabernet Franc is among my absolute favorites from last year, but the 22 Spark and 24 Roussanne are on my “must try” list, with the the 23 Petit Verdot, and 22 Ember (recently released dessert wine that I plan to check out sometime soon), rounding out the golds.  Note: Only one winery received more golds, and I have a policy of never mentioning or writing about that place.

• Pollak also rocked it, having the only Virginia Nebbiolo to earn a Gold this year.  I’m telling you that this wine is incredible, and will likely make my top ten this year.  It’s limited production, and release is imminent.  They also took Gold for 23 Chardonnay Reserve, 23 Merlot Reserve (a reserve of one of my favorite Merlots!) and 23 Cabernet Franc Reserve.  

• Ankida Ridge I loved seeing the Gold for the 2024 Chardonnay.  I bet that is why it was off the menu last time I went, and I’m hoping it is back on now that we have results.  It’s such an amazing wine.  I was disappointed to see only a Silver for Pinot Noir – while it was a resubmission that took Gold last year, I find this wine has gotten better over time.  I think it’s the best Pinot Noir in Virginia (and the only one I drink regularly).

• Keswick and Stephen make the list with the amazing 24 Cabernet Franc that I scored two bottles of at the barrel tasting, and the 24 Petit Manseng he let us sample, which I thought was fantastic.  I really like where he is going now with the wines at Keswick, and I’m definitely going to be heading back for more.

• Valley Road – That 2024 Albariño – with that little bit of sweetness from Residual Sugar.  My daughter-in-law loved this wine when I gifted it to her, and I can’t wait to share more of these with her!

I Haven’t Had These Medal Winners, but Need to Try them Soon!

Fifty-Third and Chelsey took Gold with the 21 Merlot, 23 Romulus, and 23 Two Springs.  While I’m disappointed her incredible Albariño didn’t take a gold this year, the Romulus is an amazing wine, and I cannot wait to get back there to try more.

Mountain and Vine is back on the gold medal list with the 23 Screaming Hawk Meritage – I have a bottle of the Cup-Winning 21 vintage, and recently drank the bottle of 22 that didn’t do quite as well in recent competition, (but I loved it).  I’ve got to get back there to check out this wine.

Stinson is back in Gold territory with 21 Meritage and 23 Mourvedre.  I will need to get back there to sample the still Mourvedre.  The sparkling was incredible. Never forget their incredible Tannat and check out their current vintage.

Walsh got one gold for the 21 Bethany Ridge Tannat (there is a bottle downstairs waiting to be popped too!).  I was sad to see a number of their other wines only come in at Silver, but that Russ Mountain Merlot is always gold in my book. The Paeonia Red and White also surprised me getting only a silver as these are incredible, solid wines, built to age.

Summing up Awards Impressions

The wines I love are getting more attention.  This is likely a function of several things – my palate shifts over time and I do notice I appreciate an aged or old world style a little more than in the past, judges seem to be more open to a wider range of wines than they previously were (possibly due to the six bottle per winery entry limit), and I am trying more wines from more producers than ever before.

While there are many gold medal winners that I haven’t had yet, this list of winners excites me.  I don’t have the training and experience to be able to talk about what a wine “should” taste like, and these judges have sampled very broadly.  They’re rating wines submitted on how well they match the defined set of characteristics for the grape and style.  I respect that, but that isn’t what I seek in my wine glass. Amusingly, the judges and I seem to be agreeing more!

You can sign up now for an alert to get your Gold Medal Trail pass from Virginia Wine to check in at wineries and earn points towards some cool prizes.  Maybe you’ll do better than me – I get so excited going to the winery that I forget to check in – remind yourself and get the swag!

Here were my wrap-ups on the awards in 2025, and 2024.

Now it’s your turn! What wines on the list surprised and excited you? Are you planning to visit any of these places and scoop these wines up? Drop a note in the comments about the wines you want to check out!