
Virginia Governor's Cup
The Competition
Preliminary Round
Over the course of 10 days, each wine is tasted by 7 judges. This is a single-blind tasting, meaning that judges only know the grape or category of a wine, but the vintage, winery and name are hidden behind coded-glasses.
Finally, individual judges' scores of a wine are averaged into one score after the lowest score is dropped.
Final Round
Over the course of 3 days, 12 judges assess the highest ranking wines from the preliminary round. Unlike the preliminary round, each judge samples all of the Final Round wines.
Each wine in the Final Round receives a final average score after lowest is dropped. The 12 wines with the highest average score are identified as the "Governor's Cup Case."
The wine with the highest overall score is the Governor's Cup Winner.
Judging Criteria
Judges will use the 100 point Wine Spectator scale to rate the most outstanding wines Virginia has to offer.
Tasting Notes
Our esteemed judges assemble tasting notes for each wine commenting on:
- Appearance Clear or dull, color, intensity, any other visual observations
- Aroma Descriptors as to clean or faulty aromatics, fruit, floral, vegetal, spice, oak, chemical, animal, and intensity
- Flavor Character of the alcohol, acidity, body, tannin, oak, fruit, floral, vegetal, spice, oak, chemical, animal, and intensity
- Overall Quality
- Commercial Suitability
Rating Scale
The numerical rating will be used to determine medal winners and advancement to subsequent round.
The Awards
Once the judging is complete, the average wine score will be used to determine if it qualifies for a medal, and the highest 12 ranking red and white wines will become the Governor's Cup Case.
-
Gold Outstanding/Classic
90-100 points -
Silver Very Good
85-89 points -
Bronze Good
80-84 points
Best in Show Cider
Beginning in 2021, Virginia cider is judged in its own category. Judges are selected based on their passion, experience, and understanding of the cider category. With 27 entries in 2021, each cider was scored using a 100 point scale. After tasting through all the entries, the top six scoring ciders were identified. The judges then retasted (blind) and ranked their favorites from 1-6. The highest-rated cider will win 2021 Best in Show Cider.
The Judges
Meet this year's judges; a world-class panel with decades of experience.
Judge Categories


Bartholomew Broadbent
Bartholomew founded Broadbent Selections in 1996 and today, among the 39 wineries he represents, Broadbent is especially known for importing the finest of the finest wines from South Africa, Lebanon, New Zealand and Portugal. Bartholomew has been a wine speaker for most of the major cruise lines and wine festivals. He lives in Richmond, Virginia and has a very strong passion for Virginia's wineries.

Emmanuel Dabney

Kristi Delovitch

Maria Denton

David Denton

Michael Franz

Rachel Fritz
Fitz co-founded ANXO with her brother, Sam, and longtime friend, Cooper Sheehan, after the trio realized the unexplored opportunities in cider while visiting a number of cideries across the globe. ANXO makes apple-only cider that is always naturally sugar free and highlights the local terroir and apples of our region. She is currently a level one Certified Cider Professional and a certified beer server.
Prior to founding ANXO, Fitz held positions at prominent D.C.-area bars and restaurants such as Meridian Pint and Pizzeria Paradiso. Originally a Baltimore native, Fitz moved to Washington, D.C. upon graduating with her Master’s of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri to work for nonprofits such as the International Rescue Committee and the Leadership International Fellowship Experience. Eventually earning a Master’s of Public Health, Fitz is still passionate about community outreach and inclusion, and continues to use this passion to fuel ANXO’s many charitable initiatives each year.

Tara Hardiman

Caroline Hermann

Erica Jeter

Ian Kirkland
Richard Leahy

Dave McIntyre
Pocket Guide to Wine.
Dave was co-creator of Drink Local Wine, an organization that highlighted the growth of local wine industries around the United States. He was honored by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association in 2010 with its Wine Grape Productivity Tray and in 2014 with its Monteith Trophy for his support of the regional wine industry. Dave has participated in and moderated wine presentations for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Associates program. His charitable work supports the American Heart Association.

Vanessa Moore

Frank Morgan

Lindsey Parris

Matt Perella
Matt has experience in multiple aspects of the industry, including fine wine retail and working at wineries in Oregon and Washington State.

Greg Trevarthen

Kasia White

Jay Youmans
Judging Director
