The New York Wine Classic, created and hosted by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, is the state’s premier wine competition celebrating the excellence and diversity of New York wines.
Now in its 40th year, the Classic recognizes outstanding winemaking and provides wineries with a platform to showcase their wines and craftsmanship.
Open to all New York State wineries, categories include vinifera wines such as Riesling and Cabernet Franc, hybrid wines such as Traminette and Maréchal Foch, as well as wines made from labrusca grapes, other fruits, and honey. Each wine is blind-tasted and evaluated by expert judges from the Beverage Testing Institute (BevTest).
Please contact Jenn Cooper, NYWGF Membership Manager, at jennifercooper@nywgf.org for your custom discount code to receive $10 OFF each wine submitted!
All wines entered are scored and may receive Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals. Additional honors include Best of Class and Best of Category, recognizing the highest-scoring red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert wines. Click here to see past “Best of” Categories and wines submitted.
The Governor’s Cup, a large silver chalice, recognizes the top wine in the competition, while the Winery of the Year award honors the winery achieving the highest overall score across its top seven grape-based wines.
Wineries can now submit their wines for the 2026 New York Wine Classic. Entries must be received by Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
Rose Hill Vineyards 2019 Clarity Cabernet Sauvignon
Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 New York Wine Classic!
Weis Vineyards Hammondsport, NY(Keuka Lake, Finger Lakes)
Beverage Testing Institute (BevTest) is honored to conduct the New York Wine Classic at the request of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF). BevTestwill organize and execute professional BevTest wine tasting panels at BevTest’s Chicago sensory lab.
Their industry-leading wine evaluation methodology was co-developed with Cornell University in 1981. Today, BevTest has augmented that methodology by collecting more data points on custom software in a state-of-the-art sensory laboratory. The room is specially designed to minimize external factors and maximize the panelists’ concentration. These are just some of the ways BevTest ensures the fairest, most consistent reviews.
BevTest will use its scoring data as the basis for the Best of Category, Best of Class, and Governor’s Cup assignments thus ensuring the impartiality and credibility of the New York Wine Classic’s results from start to finish. If there are any score ties for the ‘Best of’ or Governor’s Cup Awards, BevTest would use its typicity data (i.e., which wine is more typical of the given category) to select the winner of the tie. If there is a still a tie based on typicity, BevTest would conduct a final taste-off with its senior wine panelists and editors to determine the winner. There will be only one winner for each award, each year. Learn More >>>
Fill out the form below and Jennifer Cooper, NYWGF Membership and Events Manager, will be happy to assist you!