Drum roll please… the results are in from the 2018 Missouri Wine Competition! For more than 30 years, this annual competition has honored the highest quality wines made in the state. More than 250 wines entered, but which ones rose to the top?

An esteemed panel of judges, comprised of wine experts and industry professionals, spent two days swirling, smelling and tasting all the wines entered. After all wines are scored, the entries that rise to the top, receiving gold medals, are pitted against each other for the honor of being named “Best of Class.” Those that make it to this top tier compete for the big win… the Governor’s Cup.

Join us in congratulating this year’s Best of Class winners:

o   Sparkling Wine: Stone Hill Winery –2013 Blanc de Blanc

o   Dry White Wine: Adam Puchta Winery – Dry Vignoles

o   Semi-Dry White Wine: St. James Winery – 2017 Dry Vignoles

o   Sweet White Wine: Stonehaus Farms Winery – Vignoles

o   Dry Rosé Wine: Les Bourgeois Vineyards – 2017 St. Vincent Rosé

o   Sweet Rosé Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Rosé Montaigne

o   Dry Red Wine: Stone Hill Winery – 2015 Chambourcin

o   Semi-Dry Red Wine: Augusta Winery – Alluvium Estate Bottled

o   Sweet Red Wine: Montelle Winery – Stone House Red

o   Dessert Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Cream Sherry

o   Late Harvest/Ice Wine: Montelle Winery – 2017 Vidal Blanc Icewine  

o   Distilled Product: Montelle Winery – Peach Eau de Vie

And the winner of the coveted Governor’s Cup for 2018 is Stone Hill Winery for their 2015 Chambourcin, a dry red wine that blew the judges away. The C.V. Riley Award for the best Norton wine went to Augusta Winery for their 2016 Norton Estate Bottled. This is a special recognition honoring the official state grape and the history of winemaking in Missouri.

In addition to Best of Class, C. V. Riley Award and Governor’s Cup honors, 87% of all the wines entered into the 2018 Missouri Wine Competition took home a medal.

The breakdown:

• 41 Gold Medals
• 94 Silver Medals
• 98 Bronze Medals

That’s more than 230 award-winning Missouri wines!

An army of devoted volunteers we affectionately call “The Flight Crew” helped ensure that this year’s two-day wine competition ran smoothly. We can’t thank them enough.

You can find the complete list of this year’s Best-of-the-Best here. Consider it your local wine shopping list!