2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal Winners: All 37 Wines

Thirty-seven wines. Twenty-seven wineries. One Appalachian-foothills AVA that has spent the last decade quietly building a case for itself, and just made it loudly. On June 1, 2026, the Monticello Wine Trail announced the 2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal winners, a judge-vetted list spanning Barboursville Vineyards' 2023 Nebbiolo Reserve, Afton Mountain Vineyards' 2024 Rosé Sparkling Wine, and Stinson Vineyards' 2023 Mourvèdre. That range, from a Piedmontese red to a Provençal variety to traditional méthode sparkling, tells you more about where the Monticello AVA stands right now than any single score could.

What Is the 2026 Monticello Cup and Why It Matters

The Monticello Cup is organized by wine educator and writer Frank Morgan and hosted by the Monticello Wine Trail, the body that coordinates the region's producers and events under the leadership of Executive Director Tracey Love. Morgan's panel draws from wine professionals and industry leaders, and the Gold Medal list holds to stricter geographic criteria than most East Coast regional competitions.

The 2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal list functions as something the mainstream wine press rarely provides for Virginia: a curated, expert-vetted shortlist of bottles worth seeking before they sell through. Many of these wineries operate at small production scales, selling primarily through tasting rooms and mailing lists. A Gold Medal here is a practical signal, not just a trophy.

The 2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal Winners: All 37 Wines

The full list of 2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal winners, as announced by the Monticello Wine Trail on June 1, 2026:

• Afton Mountain Vineyards, 2024 Rosé Sparkling Wine
• Barboursville Vineyards, 2021 Nascent
• Barboursville Vineyards, 2023 Nebbiolo Reserve
• Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery, 2025 Aubaine
• Chestnut Oak Vineyard, 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2025 Petit Manseng
• Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2025 Rosé
• Fallen Tree Vineyard and Farm, 2021 Meritage
• Fallen Tree Vineyard and Farm, 2023 Bee Sting Red
• Flying Fox Vineyard and Winery, 2021 Trio
• Flying Fox Vineyard and Winery, 2023 Trio
• Grace Estate Winery, 2022 Gange-Rolv Chardonnay
• Hark Vineyards, 2023 Cabernet Franc
• Hark Vineyards, 2024 Roussanne
• Hazy Mountain Vineyards, 2024 Albariño
• Jefferson Vineyards, 2022 Meritage
• Jefferson Vineyards, 2023 Chardonnay Reserve
• Keswick Vineyards, 2024 Viognier Reserve
• King Family Vineyards, 2022 Mountain Plains Red
• King Family Vineyards, 2024 Viognier
• Knight's Gambit, 2023 Cabernet Franc
• Knight's Gambit, 2023 Meritage
• Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery, 2023 Tellurian Red
• Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery, 2025 Loving Cup White
• Michael Shaps Winery, 2021 En Hommage L Scott
• Michael Shaps Winery, 2023 Petit Manseng
• Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery, 2022 Screaming Hawk Meritage
• Oakencroft Farm & Winery, 2023 White Table Wine
• Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, 2021 Ridge Reserve
• Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, 2025 Zero White
• Pollak Vineyards, 2023 Nebbiolo
• Southwest Mountains Vineyards, 2023 Cabernet Franc Reserve
• Southwest Mountains Vineyards, 2023 Chardonnay Reserve
• Stinson Vineyards, 2023 Mourvèdre
• Trump Winery, 2021 Blanc de Blanc
• Valley Road Vineyards, 2021 Meritage
• Valley Road Vineyards, 2024 Albariño
• Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 2023 Monticello White
• Woodbrook Farm Vineyard, 2024 Winterbourne

The Monticello Cup winner and Case Winners from this list will be announced live at the Gold Medal Celebration on June 26, so the full hierarchy of the 2026 competition remains open until that evening.

Standout Varieties: Nebbiolo, Mourvèdre, and Sparkling Wines Lead the Way

Scan the list and three categories pull focus immediately. Two Nebbiolo entries, Barboursville Vineyards' 2023 Nebbiolo Reserve and Pollak Vineyards' 2023 Nebbiolo, earned Gold Medals in the same year. Nebbiolo is one of viticulture's most demanding varieties: thin-skinned, late-ripening, brutally sensitive to site. The fact that two Monticello AVA producers coaxed Gold Medal-quality results from it in 2023 is the kind of detail that makes collectors pay attention to a region they may have previously overlooked.

Stinson Vineyards' 2023 Mourvèdre is the other wine that demands a second look. Mourvèdre, the backbone of Bandol, a blending component across the Southern Rhône, needs heat accumulation and a long growing season to ripen fully. Its presence on a Virginia Gold Medal list, as a varietal wine rather than a blending component, signals that the Monticello AVA's warmest sites are performing at a level that makes Rhône varieties viable as standalone bottlings.

The sparkling category adds a different dimension. Afton Mountain Vineyards' 2024 Rosé Sparkling Wine and Trump Winery's 2021 Blanc de Blanc, a Chardonnay-based sparkling, demonstrate that the region is producing wines with enough structure and freshness to compete on quality terms.

Aromatic whites are equally well represented: Keswick Vineyards' 2024 Viognier Reserve, King Family Vineyards' 2024 Viognier, Hark Vineyards' 2024 Roussanne, and two Albariño entries, from Hazy Mountain Vineyards and Valley Road Vineyards, confirm that the Monticello AVA's white wine program extends well beyond Chardonnay.

Petit Manseng, the Jurançon variety that has become something of a Virginia signature, appears twice: Eastwood Farm and Winery's 2025 and Michael Shaps Winery's 2023.

How the Monticello AVA Built Virginia's Most Varied Wine Region

What the 2026 Gold Medal list captures is the cumulative effect of that growth. Twenty-seven wineries producing Gold Medal-quality wine across sparkling, aromatic whites, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Meritage blends, Nebbiolo, Mourvèdre, Roussanne, Albariño, Viognier, and Petit Manseng, that breadth reflects producers who have spent years matching variety to site, adjusting canopy management for Virginia's humid summers, and building the cellar infrastructure to handle the results.

Tracey Love, Executive Director of the Monticello Wine Trail, put it directly: "We're excited to celebrate the incredible quality and diversity of wines being produced across the Monticello AVA." The Gold Medal list is the evidence behind that statement, 37 wines that a panel of wine professionals judged on merit, not regional loyalty.

The competition's organizer, Frank Morgan, has spent years as a wine educator and writer focused on Virginia wine, which gives the Monticello Cup a different character than competitions judged by panels with no particular regional knowledge. Morgan's involvement means the judging panel understands what Nebbiolo from Barboursville should taste like relative to its own history, a distinction that matters when evaluating wines from a region still establishing its benchmarks.

Peer Set Snapshot

Winery	2026 Gold Medal Wine(s)	Variety / Style	Vintage	AVA
Afton Mountain Vineyards	2024 Rosé Sparkling Wine	Sparkling Rosé	2024	Monticello
Barboursville Vineyards	2021 Nascent; 2023 Nebbiolo Reserve	Blend; Nebbiolo	2021 / 2023	Monticello
Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery	2025 Aubaine	White Blend	2025	Monticello
Chestnut Oak Vineyard	2023 Cabernet Sauvignon	Cabernet Sauvignon	2023	Monticello
Eastwood Farm and Winery	2025 Petit Manseng; 2025 Rosé	Petit Manseng; Rosé	2025	Monticello
Fallen Tree Vineyard and Farm	2021 Meritage; 2023 Bee Sting Red	Meritage; Red Blend	2021 / 2023	Monticello
Flying Fox Vineyard and Winery	2021 Trio; 2023 Trio	Red Blend	2021 / 2023	Monticello
Grace Estate Winery	2022 Gange-Rolv Chardonnay	Chardonnay	2022	Monticello
Hark Vineyards	2023 Cabernet Franc; 2024 Roussanne	Cabernet Franc; Roussanne	2023 / 2024	Monticello
Hazy Mountain Vineyards	2024 Albariño	Albariño	2024	Monticello
Jefferson Vineyards	2022 Meritage; 2023 Chardonnay Reserve	Meritage; Chardonnay	2022 / 2023	Monticello
Keswick Vineyards	2024 Viognier Reserve	Viognier	2024	Monticello
King Family Vineyards	2022 Mountain Plains Red; 2024 Viognier	Red Blend; Viognier	2022 / 2024	Monticello
Knight's Gambit	2023 Cabernet Franc; 2023 Meritage	Cabernet Franc; Meritage	2023	Monticello
Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery	2023 Tellurian Red; 2025 Loving Cup White	Red Blend; White Blend	2023 / 2025	Monticello
Michael Shaps Winery	2021 En Hommage L Scott; 2023 Petit Manseng	Red Blend; Petit Manseng	2021 / 2023	Monticello
Mountain & Vine Vineyards and Winery	2022 Screaming Hawk Meritage	Meritage	2022	Monticello
Oakencroft Farm & Winery	2023 White Table Wine	White Blend	2023	Monticello
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards	2021 Ridge Reserve; 2025 Zero White	Red Blend; White Blend	2021 / 2025	Monticello
Pollak Vineyards	2023 Nebbiolo	Nebbiolo	2023	Monticello
Southwest Mountains Vineyards	2023 Cabernet Franc Reserve; 2023 Chardonnay Reserve	Cabernet Franc; Chardonnay	2023	Monticello
Stinson Vineyards	2023 Mourvèdre	Mourvèdre	2023	Monticello
Trump Winery	2021 Blanc de Blanc	Sparkling White	2021	Monticello
Valley Road Vineyards	2021 Meritage; 2024 Albariño	Meritage; Albariño	2021 / 2024	Monticello
Veritas Vineyards and Winery	2023 Monticello White	White Blend	2023	Monticello
Woodbrook Farm Vineyard	2024 Winterbourne	White Blend	2024	Monticello

Collector and Visitor Takeaways from the 2026 Monticello Cup

For collectors, the immediate practical question is availability. Monticello AVA wineries typically operate at production scales where Gold Medal-winning cuvées sell through within months of release, often exclusively through the winery's tasting room or mailing list.

The 2021 and 2022 vintages on this list are already in bottle and moving; the 2025 releases from Eastwood Farm and Winery, Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery, Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery, and Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards are the newest additions to the market.

If you're building a Virginia cellar, the 2026 Monticello Cup Gold Medal list is the most current expert-vetted shortlist available.

The Gold Medal Celebration on June 26 is the most direct route to tasting across the full list in a single evening. Held at Boar's Head Resort in Charlottesville from 5:30 to 8:30 PM, the event brings together more than 25 participating wineries for an elevated cookout-style tasting experience with live music. The Monticello Cup winner and Case Winners will be announced live that evening, so attendees will know the top of the hierarchy before they leave.

The celebration falls on the Friday of Monticello Wine Week, which runs June 22 to 28, 2026 across Charlottesville and the broader AVA. The week's program includes winemaker dinners, vineyard events, a Rosé Festival, a Sparkling Brunch, and a golf tournament, enough structure to build a multi-day itinerary without repeating yourself. Tickets and lodging packages are available at monticellowinetrail.com/taste-of.

For wine tourists who can't make the June 26 event, the Gold Medal list functions as a winery itinerary. Cross-reference the 27 producers against their tasting room hours, most are open weekends year-round, and you have a route through the AVA that a panel of wine professionals has already pre-qualified. The 2023 vintage appears most frequently on the list, suggesting that year produced broadly strong results across the region's range of varieties. That's a vintage to ask about at every stop.

What the 2026 Monticello Cup ultimately documents is a regional wine culture that has moved past the stage of proving vinifera can survive a Virginia summer. The question now is which producers, which varieties, and which sites are producing wines that hold their own on a national stage, and the Gold Medal list, curated by Frank Morgan and judged by an accomplished panel, is the clearest answer the Monticello AVA has yet produced.