Tags
#DrinkLocal, Barboursville, Governor's Cup, Jay Youmans, Octagon Wine, VaWine, Viognier, Virginia Wine, Wine Competition
By now Virginia wine enthusiasts and industry followers know that Luca Paschina and team Barboursville (on Twitter: @OctagonVA) took possession of the Governor’s Cup on Thursday evening at the ‘Cup Gala with the announcement by Governor Bob McDonnell that the 2009 Octagon won the 2013 Virginia Wineries Association Governor’s Cup competition. This win marks the fourth time Barboursville has scored top honors since this competition began in the early 1980′s.
Congratulations Luca and the entire Barboursville team for your 4th Governor’s Cup!
Octagon bested over 375 other Virginia wines to win the competition year. There were a total of 377 entries* from 93 Virginia wineries in this year’s Governor’s Cup, resulting in 20 gold medals (scored 90-100 points), 178 silver medals (85-89 points), 165 bronze medals (80-84 points), with 14 wines receiving scores below the 80 points required for a bronze medal. (* – Data based on Virginia Wineries Association Press Release, February 14, 2013.)
Of the 20 gold medals awarded in this year’s competition, Bordeaux styled red blends dominated with ten golds, followed by eight Meritages, five Cabernet Francs, two Petit Verdots, and one Cabernet Sauvignon. Just one white wine managed to break the 90-point barrier for a gold medal — the Michael Shaps 2010 Wild Meadow Chardonnay was the lone white wine to win a gold medal this year.
Though Octagon is certainly (and deservedly) the talk of the town, the lack of white wines — in particular Virginia’s Signature Grape, Viognier — receiving a 90+ point score needed for a gold medal has occupied much of the Virginia wine narrative in the last week.
Since 2013 marks just the second year since the Governor’s Cup format was overhauled and the competition’s brand reenergized by Jay Youmans, MW, at the request of Governor McDonnell, it’s way too early to draw definitive conclusions about which Virginia wines hold the most future potential. However, Bordeaux-style red wines have certainly made a big statement based on results of the last two Governor’s Cup competitions.
Since white wines were awarded just two of the 12 gold medals in the 2012 Governor’s Cup, and just one of the 20 golds this year, one can’t help but wonder why the white wines are not scoring/showing better? Perhaps, as suggested in the VWA press release that announced the 2013 medalists, timing could be one of the reasons — one theory is because of the timing of the competition, when few whites are available.
A friend who works at one of Virginia’s most established wineries emailed me to say that his winery would not enter their Viognier in the Governor’s Cup because of this very reason, “our 2012 Viognier was not bottled until early February and we’ll sell through it before the next Governor’s Cup.“
I’m sure there other wineries facing this same timing issue however, there has to be more to this story than just timing. Rather than kneading this subject too much, I went right to the source — I asked Virginia Governor’s Cup competition head judge, Jay Youmans, MW, about the lack of white wines awarded gold medals.
“In general, judges tend to reward high quality reds wines more generously than high quality white wines,” Youmans told me.
Since Virginia’s Signature grape, Viognier, has been noticeably absent from the gold medal podium in the last two years, I also asked Jay specifically about why he thinks Viognier has not received top scores. Youmans noted, “It is not that Viognier has performed poorly; it has more to do with the fact that many of the reds simply reflect the strength of the 2007, 2009, and 2010 vintages. While Viognier may perform well in Virginia, it is not as commercially important in the global market as full-bodied red blends. We asked the judges to assess the quality of these wines from an international perspective, not a Virginia perspective. The majority of the judges buy, sell, and write about wines from around the world. I believe Virginia’s Viogniers will fare better in future competitions, as we judge wines from more ‘typical’ vintages.”
I agree with Jay that Viognier may not be as commercially important in the global market as full-bodied reds; however, I still do believe that Viognier can be Virginia’s differentiator in a crowded global market (though many of my wine friends disagree with me on this). My opinion, at least in part, is supported by Virginia Viognier’s success in the UK market place, thanks to Chris Parker of New Horizon Wines.
Since Viognier wines (excluding blends) garnered 11 silver (~ 6% of all silvers) and 11 bronze medals (~ 7% of all bronzes) this year, Viognier hasn’t performed poorly per se. Instead, I hold the opinion that the Governor’s Cup results demonstrate that Virginia wineries are producing some seriously good red blends that are showing much better than whites.
Youmans concluded by telling me, “I suspect we will see a different result in next year’s competition as we begin to get red wines submitted from the difficult 2011 vintage.”
As a big fan and consumer of Virginia Viognier, I hope we do see more whites and Viogniers on the gold medal podium next year.
Regardless of how many reds or whites win medals, one fact is undeniable, Jay and everyone associated with the newly revamped Governor’s Cup has done an amazing job of putting a rigorous judging process in place that has reestablished the credibility of the annual Governor’s Cup competition. Hat tip to all of you!
UPDATE 24FEB2013, 8:23am ET: How does the gold, silver, bronze medals awarded (as a % of total entries) stack up against other competitions? See comparison in ‘Comments.’
Congratulations to all 2013 gold, silver and bronze medalists!
________________________
Much like Jay says on your post, certain varieties are always rated
higher. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it is reality. Is a
perfect Gamay, not still a perfect wine or should it be downgraded
based on the fact that it is Gamay? While I do not personally enjoy
Norton (nor do I believe it will help us in the international market
for the same reason in that it is not recognized outside the East
Coast and MidWest) is a perfect one not still a perfectly made wine? Viognier is
simply not classified as a top tier variety with Cabernet, Pinot,
Chardonnay, Merlot or Riesling. It is a step below as an almost
second tier variety with many people.
Now a more important reason in my opinion is simply the way in which
they are tasted. Revamped or not, the Governors Cup is still a wine
competition. Judges are tasting a lot of wine in compact sittings.
They have time lines and time constraints. Therefore varying levels
of palate fatigue come in to play and certain varieties can show
particular elements through some palate fatigue. Bigger reds (blends
or not) can be assessed on tannic structure and how it balances with
acidity, oak and alcohol which will all show more then intricate
nuance once tasting many wines. Viognier, while it can be intense, is
about nuance and delicacy in its profile. It also tends to be a lower
acid variety and in Virginia has less oak influence so therefore it
only has alcohol or potential sweetness that can shine through varying
levels of palate fatigue. Both will be marked as negative characters by most judges.
Chardonnay can show balanced elements of oak, alcohol, and creaminess
which can stand out and Sparkling can be very refreshing. So in the
end, in my opinion, not all wines stand the same chance in
competitions by the nature of their make-up. The argument that
Viognier will shine in mediocre vintages only makes matters worse
because it is not saying that the Viognier is great, but that the
usual greats just suck in that year. No wine gets better because of a vintage like 2011.
The same things can and do happen with tastings by major publications
and critics world wide. That said, a good critic in my opinion will
also know their limits and respect them. They can walk away from a
tasting and come back to it once the have relaxed their palate. You
can not do that on a strict time-line of competitions.
I also do not believe that it is simply because less are entered either.
That is an easy thing to figure out and just release the percentages
or average (or median) scores by variety. So most of the Golds were
Red Blends or “bigger” reds, but what is that percentage wise compared
to the amount of Red Blends entered vs how many Viognier scored “x” in
comparison to what was entered.
In the end I think competitions are more about what sticks out and is
it a “good” characteristic? Not all varieties are created equal in
their ability to shine in a large tasting setting. That does not mean
a variety like Viognier is any lesser in a more focused setting. They
just won’t have the power components to stick out like a well
extracted Cabernet or Merlot after a long day of tasting.
Hi Jordan – Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Congratulations on your seven silver and four bronze medals in this year’s competition.
Agree with many of the points you make, especially, “not all wines stand the same chance in competitions by the nature of their make-up.” Though I’m an equal opportunity wine drinker (for the most part), I personally tend to enjoy two varietals in particular that are not widely respected by the larger global wine marketplace — Gamay and Viogner. In the case of this and other wine competitions, we may not see Viognier garnering the top score in the ‘Cup.
In defense of the tasting setup of the Governor’s Cup, the preliminary round is held over the course of two days and the final round is held over the course of three days, which likely allows for more time to taste and rest (this last part is an assumption on my part). I will defer to one of the judges to answer for sure.
Cheers!
Is anyone else a little concerned about how few wines, 14, did not receive medals? While this competition is somewhat self-selected by virtue of wines having to be submitted, isn’t that a pretty low number given the total submitted? Just speaking for myself based on my own tasting, I see huge differences in the Bronze category. Some wines I think are superb, others I don’t think are all that good.
Hi Kurt — Ah, you raise a good point and one that I’ve noodled on and even started another piece with further Gov Cup analysis. However, since you raise the point here in the comments, I’ll save all that typing and share my opinion(s) on the medal counts here vice a new post.
Although I am not going to (and am not qualified to) armchair quarterback or second guess the VA Gov Cup panel of judges — which included two MWs, one MS, and several very respected professional wine critics/writers — I have to admit that I am surprised so many wines received silver and bronze medals and how few wines scored 79 points or lower to receive no medal.
To be clear, I am happy for all medalists and support all (well most) Virginia wineries but there seem to be a lot of silver and bronze medals (as % of total).
Lets look at stats from one of the largest wine competitions in the US — the San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC). I have to preface the following by conceding that I am fully aware how deep in to the ‘apples vs. oranges’ comparison pool I’m wading with this comparison, but not sure of too many other ways to demonstrate the high (in my opinion) silver, bronze, and no medal count.
In the last SFIWC (2012), there were 4,556 wines were submitted by 1300 wineries from 29 countries and 26 states (WOW!). Double Gold and Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals were awarded as follows:
– SFIWC: 556 Double Gold/Gold Medals were awarded (roughly 12% of total 4,556 wines entered).
– Virginia Governor’s Cup: 20 Golds were awarded this year (roughly ~ 5% of the total from 377 entries).
– SFIWC: About 1,325 Silver Medals awarded (roughly 29% of 4,556 wines entered)
– VA Gov Cup: 178 Silver Medals (roughly 47% of 377 total entries)
– SFIWC: About 1,570 Bronze Medals awarded (roughly 34% of total 4,556 wines entered)
– VA Gov Cup: 165 Bronze Medals awarded (roughly 44% of total 377 wines entered)
– SFIWC: This leaves roughly 1,100 wines with no medal, about 25% of wines entered received no medal.
– VA Gov Cup: 14 received no medal, about 4%
* This all assumes my math is correct. To err is Frank.
What does all this mean? Nothing really – these are two totally different competitions with different wines and different judges. Not an ideal scientific comparison to be sure. However, if we use SFIWC as a leading barometer, we can conclude that the criteria for a Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold medal is (notably) more stringent than most competitions. Golds have very high standards, as it should be! This adds even more credibility to this new format and judging in my opinion.
For the VA Gov Cup, scoring in the middle of the pack (silver and bronze) seems more benevolent with so many more (as a %) wines receiving Silver and Bronze. Maybe this has to do with the number of judges participating in the preliminary round? Perhaps, but I’m not absolutely sure.
We could spend an inordinate breaking down, analyzing and discussing stats from the competition. I find all this fascinating really. My takeaway here is that Jay and the Virginia Gov Cup judges have serious criteria and are holding these wines to international standards. A win for Virginia wine!
Stop back by tomorrow evening as I’m sure there will be more comments from vintners who are tied up at the Expo this weekend. I’ve already received a couple emails with quick comments about their opinions. Cheers!
It is really hard to analyse this based on other wine competitions because awards are given based on score as apposed to what gold, silver and bronze represent if everything outside wine competitions. Generally Gold, Silver and Bronze with everything other then wine means 1st, 2nd and 3rd. In wine it is a great marketing piece so more are awarded and given base one scores.
Every wine competitions has its own ways to score wine and all have their own curves on what score represents what medal. Many wine competitions that i am aware of award 85-87 points as Bronze, 88-89 as Silver and 90+ as Gold. The Governors cup according the press release rewarded 80-85 as bronze, 86-89 as Silver and 90+ as Gold so really the only level that can be compared is the Golds.
Frank, this is good info. Knew this was coming from the viognier defender.
kidding… partially. Jay is spot on that well made reds score better than well made whites in competitions. The Governors Cup is now a serious competition and is great for the state. But looks like two of the most experienced growers did not enter this year. Jim Law and Bernd Jung.
Keep in mind that production levels also make a difference in the wines submitted. This is probably why more whites like viognier and petit manseng are not medaling. Doesnt the new competition guidelines require that Governor case winners must have a certain case production and set aside a certain number of cases to be sent to writers as part of the Governor case? By the time the competition rolls around wineries have sold much of their prior year releases like viognier. Just not enought to go around.
Hi Jeff – Thanks for commenting, I think.
Viognier defender? hahaha I am a big fan of the Viggy for sure. You ask about the case requirement and availability for the Governor’s Case:
– There is a 40 case minimum to enter the Governor’s Cup. This means that the winery must have 40 cases of the wine available for retail sales at the time of entry.
– All wineries that produce a wine that makes the Governor’s Cup Case, the top 12 wines, will agree to sell 10 cases of that wine at $200 per case to be used for marketing purposes.
I’m not sure what more the competition can do to attract Linden and Chester Gap to enter (though I believe Jim did enter Linden wines last year). I personally was very surprised that RdV entered. I view this as a good thing for sure.
Cheers!
Yes, so was I. Now that Early Mountain has announced that RdV wines will be part of their Best of Virginia I can taste them without a $40 fee.
Frank
Well written piece, bravo!
Although Viognier is officially the State grape of Virginia, I think public perception [and sometimes even that of judges] is that Viognier is somewhat inferior to the likes of Chard, Cab Franc or Bordeuax Blends. It is a minor player for the most part and even though I am a big fan of the grape, it will take some time to be considered one of the truly classic varietals, if ever at all.
My other humble opinion is that Virginia does not have a agreed upon style of what our Viognier’s are supposed to taste like. I think there are some clear shared characteristics of Napa Cab, New Zealand Sauvignon Bland or Australian Shiraz, but Virginia Viognier’s tend to be all over the map. I sat on a panel at the VVA and my Viogner that I made, was compared to Condrieu and as such was not a true or authentic style of Virginia. So how do judges taste and quantify the Viognier they get in front of them without having a frame of reference from which to judge.
I think the other concern is one of timing. Our 2012 LVD Viognier that we entered had been in the bottle for less that 4 weeks prior to being tasted, purely because our higher end Viognier’s and Reserve ranges had long since been sold out.
It was interesting to see the high number of blends that did well, shows me the Virginia really struggles to make true varietal expressions of any particular grape, white or red. Our calling card may actually be a wine that is crafted in the lab, using other varietals to fill in the gaps.
Congratulations to the winners though, I tasted every single gold medal wine, and although I sometimes do not agree with all the decisions, the wines showed beautifully and the winners were well deserved.
This competition, like any other is not perfect, but it is certainly a step up in my opinion from previous years. Jay Youmans and his team deserve an awful lot of credit for bringing credibility back to it, now if we could only get all the wineries to enter next year.