The Virginia Wine Governor's Cup® Winning Red Wines
As noted in a previous blog, a qualified team of judges sampled over 620 of the best Virginia wines, ciders and meads from across the Virginia Commonwealth.
The Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition is one of the most stringent and thorough wine competitions in the United States. The contest is a result of a partnership between the Virginia Wineries Association, which owns and manages the competition and the gubernatorial-appointed Virginia Wine Board.
The highest 12 ranking red and white wines make up the 2025 Governor's Cup Case.
Here’s the first of the winning reds included in the Governor's Cup Case:
Trump Winery Sparkling Rosé ($44.99)
Trump Winery (formerly Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard) is a winery on Trump Vineyard Estates in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the county of Albemarle. It is within both the Virginia and Monticello viticultural areas and is among the 23 wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail.
The winery and vineyard were established by Patricia Kluge in 1999, and later purchased by Trump in 2011.
Jonathan Wheeler oversees their sparkling, white, and red wine programs. With extensive experience since 2006 and a background from Sonoma, Monterey, Marlborough, and the Finger Lakes, he holds a B.A. in Chemistry from SUNY Oswego and is a member of the Winemaker’s Research Exchange in Virginia.
This Trump sparkling rosé is produced from 88% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Noir. It is medium copper in color with a delicate that includes cherry and floral notes. On the palate this wine is very bubbly with flavors of strawberry, cherry and grapefruit. [ABV: 12.5%, TA: 10 g/L, pH: 3.25, Residual Sugar: 0.9%]
This is a very refreshing sparkling rosé and a Virginia Wine Governor's Cup® winning wine featured as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!
Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review.
Media Samples Provided by Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications