Top 25 Most Awarded Virginia Wineries
Virginia's wine industry has grown from just six wineries in the late 1970s to more than 300 today, producing world-class Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Petit Verdot, and Bordeaux-style blends that regularly earn national recognition. Each year, the Virginia Governor's Cup Competition evaluates hundreds of wines through rigorous blind tasting by nationally recognized judges. Wines scoring 90 points or higher earn Gold Medals, and the top 12 enter the prestigious Governor's Cup Case.
The rankings below are based on nine years of Governor's Cup results (2018–2026), sorted by prestige—Governor's Cup wins first, then Case selections, Best in Show honors, Gold Medals, and total awards. This is the same approach used in Olympic medal counts: a single Governor's Cup outranks any number of Silvers.
Virginia Governor's Cup Medal Count: 2018–2026
| # | Winery | 🏆 Cup | 📦 Case | ⭐ BIS | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barboursville Vineyards | 2 | 13 | — | 39 | 32 | 86 |
| 2 | King Family Vineyards | 2 | 5 | — | 33 | 34 | 74 |
| 3 | Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery | 1 | 2 | — | 13 | 55 | 71 |
| 4 | Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg | 1 | 2 | — | 6 | 29 | 38 |
| 5 | Valley Road Vineyards | 1 | 1 | — | 7 | 28 | 37 |
| 6 | 868 Estate Vineyards | 1 | — | — | 9 | 23 | 33 |
| 7 | Horton Vineyards | 1 | — | — | 5 | 19 | 25 |
| 8 | Michael Shaps Wineworks | — | 9 | — | 60 | 77 | 146 |
| 9 | Trump Winery | — | 6 | — | 30 | 39 | 75 |
| 10 | Pollak Vineyards | — | 5 | 1 | 31 | 24 | 61 |
| 11 | Jefferson Vineyards | — | 4 | 1 | 24 | 61 | 90 |
| 12 | Paradise Springs Winery | — | 4 | 1 | 24 | 44 | 73 |
| 13 | Breaux Vineyards | — | 3 | 1 | 18 | 44 | 66 |
| 14 | 50 West Vineyards | — | 3 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 26 |
| 15 | Veritas Winery | — | 3 | — | 23 | 41 | 67 |
| 16 | CrossKeys Vineyards | — | 3 | — | 14 | 44 | 61 |
| 17 | Early Mountain Vineyards | — | 2 | — | 24 | 34 | 60 |
| 18 | The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards | — | 2 | — | 19 | 41 | 62 |
| 19 | Shenandoah Vineyards | — | 2 | — | 18 | 26 | 46 |
| 20 | Bluestone Vineyard | — | 2 | — | 17 | 75 | 94 |
| 21 | Afton Mountain Vineyards | — | 2 | — | 14 | 25 | 41 |
| 22 | Rockbridge Vineyard | — | 2 | — | 11 | 43 | 56 |
| 23 | Potomac Point Winery & Vineyard | — | 2 | — | 8 | 31 | 41 |
| 24 | Glen Manor Vineyards | — | 2 | — | 7 | 2 | 11 |
| 25 | The Winery at La Grange | — | 2 | — | 5 | 25 | 32 |
Data covers the 2018–2026 Virginia Governor's Cup competitions. Cup = Governor's Cup Winner (top overall wine). Case = Governor's Cup Case (top 12 wines). BIS = Best in Show (top wine in category, introduced 2025). Gold = 90+ point score. Silver = 87–89 point score. Sorted by prestige: Cup > Case > BIS > Gold > Total.
About the Virginia Governor's Cup
Now in its 44th year, the Virginia Governor's Cup is widely regarded as one of the nation's most rigorous state wine competitions. All entries must be made from 100 percent Virginia-grown fruit. Wines are evaluated blind over preliminary and final rounds using a 100-point scoring system by panels that include Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, and top industry professionals.
The 2026 competition received a record 677 entries from 156 producers and awarded 224 Gold Medals to 113 wineries and cideries. Among those Gold medals, Meritage blends led the field with 50, followed by Cabernet Franc (30), Chardonnay (19), Merlot (15), and Petit Manseng (14). The competition has become a bellwether for the quality and ambition of Virginia wine as a whole.
Virginia's Wine Regions
Virginia is home to eight federally-designated American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), administered by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Monticello AVA near Charlottesville, named for Thomas Jefferson's estate and established in 1984, is the oldest and most celebrated, home to many of the state's most awarded producers including Barboursville Vineyards, King Family Vineyards, Michael Shaps Wineworks, Valley Road Vineyards, Jefferson Vineyards, and Pollak Vineyards. A weekend spent tracing the stretch from Crozet west to Afton, or north through Barboursville and Gordonsville, covers some of the East Coast's most acclaimed wineries.
The Middleburg Virginia AVA, designated in 2012 and covering parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, has emerged as a Northern Virginia powerhouse just an hour west of Washington DC. Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg took the 2022 Governor's Cup, and 50 West Vineyards, Carriage House Wineworks, and Delaplane Cellars all rank among the region's most consistently awarded producers. Not every winery in Loudoun County sits inside the federal AVA boundary; a significant cluster in the northern part of the county — including 868 Estate Vineyards (2020 Governor's Cup winner), Breaux Vineyards, The Barns at Hamilton Station, and Walsh Family Wine — sits just outside the formal AVA but produces wines of comparable ambition.
The Shenandoah Valley AVA, established in 1982 and stretching from Winchester down through Lexington, benefits from limestone-rich soils and cooler nights that yield crisp, structured wines. Bluestone Vineyard, CrossKeys Vineyards, Shenandoah Vineyards, and Rockbridge Vineyard lead the region, with an increasing focus on cool-climate varieties like Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, and Riesling alongside the state's signature Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay.
Governor's Cup Winners: 2018–2026
2026: Valley Road Vineyards — 2023 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Winemaker Corry Craighill's 100% Cabernet Franc from Grayson Vineyard in the Monticello AVA took the top honor with notes of violets and black cherry, a spicy peppery palate, and balanced tannins. This marks Valley Road's first Governor's Cup win, capping a string of recent recognitions that includes a 2023 Petit Manseng Case selection in 2025.
2025: Barboursville Vineyards — 2023 Vermentino Reserve
A white wine triumph from winemaker Luca Paschina in a competition that historically favors reds, the Vermentino showcased lemon-blossom character, lychee, and pear with racy acidity and a long mineral finish. Barboursville's second Governor's Cup in our tracking window, following their 2015 Paxxito win in 2021. 2025 was also the year the Best in Show category was introduced, expanding the competition's top-tier recognition beyond the Cup and Case.
2024: King Family Vineyards — 2019 Meritage
Winemaker Matthieu Finot's Bordeaux-style blend of 48% Merlot, 28% Petit Verdot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec, showing aromas of dried herbs, tobacco leaf, dark fruits, and oak spice. Finot's second Governor's Cup, following King Family's 2014 Meritage win in 2018.
2023: Mountain & Vine Vineyards — 2021 Screaming Hawk Meritage
A Petit Verdot-dominant blend (50% PV, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec) from the former Delfosse Vineyards, crafted by winemaker Andrew Bilenkij using 100% estate-grown fruit in the Monticello AVA. The winery rebranded from Delfosse to Mountain & Vine during this period, with the rebrand reflected in their most recent competition entries.
2022: Cana Vineyards — 2019 Unitè Reserve
Winemaker Melanie Natoli became the first woman to win the Governor's Cup in the competition's modern history with this signature estate red blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot from the Middleburg Virginia AVA in Loudoun County.
2021: Barboursville Vineyards — 2015 Paxxito
A passito-style dessert wine made from air-dried Moscato Ottonel and Vidal grapes, fermented naturally in oak for over two years. Winemaker Luca Paschina's opulent and age-worthy creation — vibrant deep gold, with unrivaled opulence and length, produced in the traditional passito method.
2020: 868 Estate Vineyards — 2017 Vidal Blanc
Winemaker Carl DiManno's Italian-style passito dessert wine aged 14 months in neutral French oak. Vibrant and fresh, with brisk acidity to balance the residual sweetness, and a pleasing mid-palate density reminiscent of Sauternes. The first Governor's Cup winner made entirely from Loudoun County fruit, marking a watershed moment for Northern Virginia viticulture outside the formal AVA boundaries.
2019: Horton Vineyards — 2016 Petit Manseng
A pioneering wine from winemakers Michael Heny and Andrew Reagan — 90% Petit Manseng, 5% Viognier, 5% Rkatsiteli, with an intense explosion of flavors across the palate and a lingering acidic finish. The first Petit Manseng ever to win the Virginia Governor's Cup, punctuating the legacy of Horton Vineyards' pioneering founder Dennis Horton, who championed unusual varieties in Virginia long before they became mainstream.
2018: King Family Vineyards — 2014 Meritage
Matthieu Finot's first Governor's Cup win for King Family — a Bordeaux-style blend of 50% Merlot, 23% Petit Verdot, 21% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Malbec, 91% estate-grown and 100% Monticello AVA. A complex nose of bright red fruit, violets, and dried rose petals laced with delicate notes of saffron, vanilla, and spice, aged 18 months in French oak.
