St. James Winery takes the Missouri Governor’s Cup again

Raise a glass to St. James Winery – bringing home the Missouri Governor’s Cup for the second year in a row. The winery was awarded the 2016 prize for its semi-dry white vignoles. St. James’ vignoles took the prize out of more than 308 wines submitted from other state vineyards.

“We didn’t feel much pressure to win this year after winning last year,” said Peter Hofherr, St. James Winery chairman and CEO. “We’ve had a three-year run that have been pretty good. We’ve won five international wine contests in the last two years.”

The competition took place in Columbia, Missouri on July 19 and 20. The Missouri Wine Competition is judged by the top wine and beverage experts from around the nation. Only Missouri wines are judged in this competition – those that received best-in-class honors were considered for Governor’s Cup.

“For our family and for the winery, this win means a lot,” said Hofherr. “We’re trying to push Missouri grapes and wines in a direction of high quality.”

The award for the best Norton varietals, the C.V. Riley Award, went to Noboleis Vineyards in Augusta for their 2014 Norton. Other wineries that took home best-in-class awards include:

• Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard for rosé
• Stone Hill Winery for dry white and dessert/fortified wine
• Montelle Winery for grappa
• Noboleis Vineyards for a dry red
• Pirtle Winery for sparkling

A complete list of all medalists can be found here.