The Colorado Wine Board hosted Colorado’s premier wine tasting and judging event when the Governor’s Cup Wine Tasting was held at History Colorado Center on Thursday, August 4. Governor John Hickenlooper invited guests to “raise a local glass” and announced the winning wines on a day that also happened to be Colorado’s 140 birthday.

The Colorado Wine Board hosts the state’s largest wine judging contest and then invites the public to taste the best wines selected at this special event. The metro area’s finest restaurants also provide small bites to pair with the wines. Last year’s winning wines were featured in a special VIP tasting room with more delicious bites.

This year’s competition included 250 wines from 35 local wineries that were judged by a panel of sommeliers, chefs, writers and wine experts from around the country. The judging was done in July, with the best of the best presented surrounded by Colorado interesting history at the museum. 

For 2016, the judges selected 18 wines for the Governor’s Cup Case, 12 grape wines and six cider, mead and fruit wines. Bookcliff Vineyards of Boulder had the 2013 Ensemble named Best in Show for grape wines, and Meadery of the Rockies from Palisade had the Strawberry Honey Wine awarded Best of Show for cider, mead and fruit wines. Both Bookcliff and Whitewater Hill Vineyards of Grand Junction both had three grapes wines included in the Governor’s Cup Case. Meadery of the Rockies and Colorado Cellars both had two fruit wines included in the case. The full list of winners can be found on the Colorado Wine Board website.

Join the Colorado Wine Board in Palisade in September for the state’s biggest wine event, Colorado Mountain Winefest on Saturday, September 17.

Photo via Flickr user noviceromano