ASWA Wine Competition Information

Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Wine Competition

2021 Wine Competition Held August 13-15th, 2021

To help identify the best of the best, ASWA recently held its annual wine competition, the largest in the nation focused exclusively on the wines of the East Coast. The competition covers the 17 states from Maine to Florida that border the Atlantic including Vermont, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Held in late summer, our professional competition judges hail from all parts of the country and many facets of the wine trade.

We host an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill every year after the completion of the competition under the auspices of the Congressional Wine Caucus. The perpetual Jefferson Loving Cup, designed by Tiffany in sterling silver, is engraved with the winning winery’s name and presented to the Best of Show entrant.

Winning wines are then showcased at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, CA, the leading wine industry convention typically drawing 15,000 attendees. The wines generally receive coverage on several west coast radio programs while ASWA representatives are in California, and a seminar and tasting at UC Davis is a regular part of our program. Opportunities for increased exposure continue throughout the year.

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2021 Wine Competition Best of Show

ASWA held its 16th Annual Wine Competition August 14 and 15, 2021 at the Marriott Tysons Corner, VA. Sixteen judges scored 484 wines made in the eastern US. This year’s Best of Show wine, 2019 Reserve Riesling by Fox Run Vineyards, Inc., NY, was selected from thirty Best of Category Winners.

Per Fox Run Vineyards, “2019 produced some tasty Rieslings, but a single lot stood out from the rest, begging to be the first Reserve bottling we’ve had in 8 years. Not since 2011 have our winemakers experienced the uncommon varietal aroma and flavor intensity contained in this bottle. This wine has a lush and creamy mouthfeel along with a beguiling complexity. Look for tension, length and energy in this exceptional wine.”  Obviously our esteemed panel of judges agreed with this description of the wine. (Suggested retail price of the wine is $30.)

See our Winners Gallery here!

For details on the winning wines and judges, see the summary of previous years below.