2016 Wine Classic Winners

Cheers! It’s reason to celebrate.

Across the commonwealth, Virginia has hundreds of quality wineries, producing some amazing quaffs. From false starts more than 400 years ago to slow beginnings some 40 years ago, the wine industry here is making a name for itself on a global market.

For nine years, we’ve shared the good news in each issue of this publication, and part of that has been through results of our own Virginia Wine Lover magazine Wine Classic.

Each spring, a panel of wine experts converge at River Stone Chophouse in Suffolk – noted for their remarkable wine list, and the extensive wine list at their sister eatery, Vintage Tavern, also in Suffolk—and examine the offerings from many of Virginia’s finest wineries.

The judges evaluate dozens of the best wines produced across the state, each based on its own individual merit.

Evaluation was done double-blind in flights, each recording their findings on sheets printed with a grid of the UC Davis (University of California at Davis) 20 Point System. The Davis system assigns a certain number of points to each of its ten categories ranging from bouquet to color to taste to aftertaste.

We present our findings to you here: 

Platinum Level Winners

Gold Level Winners

Silver Level Winners

Bronze Level Winners

Author: VisitVirginia