Virginia Governor's Cup 2011

It's almost enough to make one think Virginia wine is jinxed. First, there was the terrifically unseasonable heat and humidity during the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville in July, and we know how that turned out. Then, Hurricane Irene hit the Atlantic coast at the same time that judging was scheduled for the white wine portion of Virginia Governor's Cup competition.

Two judges canceled, and Landsdowne Resort, where the judging was held, was as empty as I have ever seen it (and the Wine Curmudgeon has been to Landsdowne more times than he would have thought possible). And even I was a little worried about the storm -- probably from watching too much shouting on The Weather Channel. More, after the jump:

But all went well. The wine, though entries were down from last year, was more then competent -- and some were even better than that. Irene stayed far enough out to sea so that Landsdowne didn't get any of the storm, and we had more rain on Sunday morning than we did on Saturday when the hurricane came through. Competition guru Monty Barrett did a stellar job.

Five wines made it through the first round of judging to compete for the Governor's Cup -- a petit manseng, viognier, chardonnay, vidal blanc and white blend. We tasted blind, so I don't know the producers, and the winner won't be announced until October. But I thought the two best wines were the viognier and vidal. The former was young and rich, almost French in style, while the vidal was fresh and citrusy, without a hint of hybrid foxiness.

My guess, though, is that the chardonnay will win. It was about as oaky and toasty as an East Coast wine can be, and that's a style that judges like. It was well made, certainly, but I didn't think it reflected the state's terroir as well as the others.