I wish I made the time to visit King Family Vineyards more often. From King Family’s email newsletter:
The Governor’s Cup Wine Competition, held January 23, 2010, received over 200 entries. Of those entries, only 15 wines received gold medals. Our 2007 Meritage was picked as the best of the gold medals, taking home the prestigious Governor’s Cup award. The 2007 Merlot and 2008 Cabernet Franc each received a silver medal.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell presented the 2010 Governor’s Cup on Friday to King Family Vineyards of Crozet, near Charlottesville, for its 2007 Meritage. The ceremony at the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond was an annual rite of celebration of Virginia’s rapidly growing wine industry.
The King Family Meritage (rhymes with “heritage”) triumphed over more than 200 other entries from 61 wineries. A total of 126 medals were awarded in judging that took place Jan. 23 at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg. The 15 gold-medal winners were in contention for the cup. (Only red wines were included in this contest; the state’s whites will be judged in the fall.)
Does this mean the King Family Meritage is the best red wine in Virginia? Not definitively; only about 40 percent of the state’s wineries entered the competition. But it gives the producer well-deserved bragging rights. A contest such as this is valuable as a snapshot of how Virginia’s industry and individual wineries are doing, and the gold-medal list contained some surprises.
Not bad for a vineyard from “little” Crozet.
