Best of Show Wines
2025 Best of Show
“Founded 1734” by Chateau MerrillAnne of VA Takes Best of Show
Celebrating twenty years of recognizing the top wines of the Atlantic coast, the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association is pleased to announce the 2025 Best of Show: Chateau MerrillAnne’s “Founded 1734” 2022. Ranked highest among the 367 entries, owners Kenny and Emily White’s Chateau MerrillAnne is the only Virginia winery to win seven or more medals per competition five years in a row, 2021-2025.
ASWA’s annual competition is the largest in the nation focused exclusively on the wines of the East Coast, covering the seventeen states from Maine to Florida that border the
Atlantic and including Vermont, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. This year’s competition was held the second weekend of August at the Marriott Tysons Corner, VA.
Working with winemaker Mike Heny, Kenny White sourced fruit from some of the Commonwealth’s finest vineyards, leading to a Virginia AVA. “Founded 1734” is a blend of 57% merlot, 38% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% petit verdot. Aged in neutral oak, the fruit-forward wine is characterized by subtle spice notes married with rich, dark berry flavor. Owner Kenny White describes the wine: “Done in the ‘Claret’ style, it is silky with bold flavor and a velvety mouthfeel. With a lasting finish this easy drinking red is perfect for sipping on its own or pairing with food, it is a very versatile wine.”
Located in Orange County, VA, Chateau MerrillAnne’s first vineyard was planted in 2010, with 2012 producing the first vintage. They currently craft 20 unique labels and were recently named the official winery of the Montpelier Races.
A panel of sixteen judges from around the country scored 367 wines made in the eastern US over the two day event. The 2025 competition produced 89 gold medal winners, 162 silver, and 116 bronze.
ASWA President Grant Crandall says “The results of the Competition demonstrate the continuing maturation of the East Coast Wine industry with so many outstanding wines. We are pleased to be able to show off that quality to audiences who otherwise might not get to taste and appreciate the wines of the East Coast. People are very open to learning more.”
2024 Best of Show
2022 Riesling by Glenora Wine Cellars of NY Takes Best of Show in 2024
Glenora Wine Cellars owner Gene Pierce was the recipient of ASWA’s Grape Productivity Award last year. As a founding partner at Glenora in 1976, he was vital to the winery’s, and indeed the region’s, development over the next several decades. The first winery on Seneca Lake has now grown into a 40,000 case winery, fine dining restaurant and 30 room inn.
Glenora winemaker Edward Miller holds a UC Davis Winemaking Certificate as well as a Master’s Degree in Viticulture & Enology from Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza, Italy. He has had wide-ranging experience, having made wine in Sonoma, Napa, New Zealand, and Western Australia after discovering his passion in New York right after college.
Miller states, “The 2022 vintage produced beautiful wines in the Finger Lakes. The overall crop size was quite small, allowing for great concentration of flavors. We had a particularly cold January at the start of the year, leading to some bud damage, and then a hot and dry summer, which resulted in smaller berry sizes. From a winemaking perspective, the low yields and warm, dry weather allowed the fruit to ripen fully and develop intense flavors and color.”
Glenora Riesling 2022 is 100% riesling from the Finger Lakes AVA with fruit from a number of different vineyards. “The majority comes from Zugibe Farms located on the northeast side of Seneca Lake,” according to Miller. The site is west facing, so receives more hours of afternoon sun. He continues, “We find that this site usually provides more tropical, riper aromas and flavors. About a quarter of the blend is sourced from our neighbor, Glenora Farms, on the southwest side of Seneca. This vineyard provides a great balance between fruit and mineral notes while maintaining a strong acid backbone.”
The individual lots were fermented in stainless steel using three different yeasts. Fermentation lasted 20-30 days at 58-62F. Some lots were allowed to progress to dryness, others were arrested at a higher sugar level in order to be able to achieve a semi-dry final blend. The resulting wine has 23g/L residual sugar.
Miller and his team believe the challenge, and the fun, of winemaking lies in the blending process. “During March and April we spent several days tweaking percentages and finding the blend that we most preferred. Once decided, the blend was assembled in the cellar and allowed to marry for a month or so before bottling.” His tasting notes reveal that the wine offers aromas of peach, apricot, white flower, as well as bursts of tropical fruit such as pineapple and guava. The palate shows firm acidity and reflects the nose with flavors of grapefruit marmalade and wildflower honey ending with a pithy finish.
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