by Richard Leahy | Mar 9, 2021 | Competitions, News/Announcements, Virginia Wine
Due to the pandemic, the Governor’s Cup gala was replaced by a Facebook reveal of the Governor’s Case (top twelve wines by score) the highest scoring of those wines, the 2021 Governor’s Cup. This year, a record 544 wines produced an impressive 96...
by Richard Leahy | Mar 9, 2021 | News/Announcements, Virginia Wine
Sadly, I report that just past midnight GMT, Steven Spurrier passed away his home at age eighty, surrounded by his family. Spurrier, a leading British wine writer, was most famous for engineering the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” blind tasting in which top Napa Valley...
by Richard Leahy | Mar 8, 2021 | News/Announcements, Virginia Wine, Virginia Wine
The twelve top-scoring wines from the 2021 Virginia Wine Governor’s Cup will be revealed via Facebook tomorrow night, Tuesday March 9th, at 7:45 p.m. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. Normally the Governor’s Case is announced at a gala tasting event for the...
by Richard Leahy | Mar 4, 2021 | Competitions, News/Announcements, Virginia Wine
The gold, silver and bronze medal wines in last month’s Virginia Wine Governor’s Cup were made public this week and are available at https://www.virginiawine.org/governors-cup/awards/2021. Here is a list of just the gold medals, a record number! WINERY ...
by Richard Leahy | Feb 28, 2021 | Competitions, Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
As I have done for the last decade, I was a judge in the annual Virginia wine Governor’s Cup competition this month, only there was a logistical proble: how to do the event with safe social distancing during the pandemic? Jay Youmans MW came up with what I...
by Richard Leahy | Feb 26, 2021 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
Industry opinion is united on the quality of the 2018 vintage in Virginia: it was “The worst ever”, thanks to twice the rainfall Virginia normally gets (close to 100 inches vs. 43 inches). Among white wines, there were some surprisingly good ones, thanks...