2022 New York Wine Classic

Organized annually by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, the New York Wine Classic celebrates a diverse selection of world-class wines from producers within the State. Judging for this year’s competition took place from April 15th – June 15th, 2022 and included 694 entries from 101 wineries from across the state. A total of 7 Platinum, 234 Gold, 324 Silver, and 110 Bronze medals were awarded.

For the second year, NYWGF has partnered with the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) to judge wines submitted. Scores were awarded by BTI’s trained sensory panel comprised of beverage directors, sommeliers, top bartenders, retail buyers and educators.

The Governor’s Cup was presented to two wineries in a surprise tie for the competition’s most esteemed award. The Governor’s Cup recognizes the “Best of Show” in the New York Wine Classic and was presented to Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards’ Solera Sherry from the Finger Lakes region and Wölffer Estate Vineyard’s 2020 Diosa Late-Harvest from Long Island.

In addition, Weis Vineyards from the Finger Lakes was presented with the “Winery of the Year” award. This award is presented to the winery with the best overall showing based on the level and number of awards in relation to entries.

2022 New York Wine Classic Awards Presentation

Presentation of the awards took place during a live virtual event, hosted by Master of Ceremonies, Karen MacNeil, author of the award-winning book, THE WINE BIBLE and creator/editor-in-chief of WineSpeed, the leading digital wine newsletter in the U.S.

Governor’s Cup (Tie)

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards
Solera Sherry
Wölffer Estate Vineyard
2020 Diosa Late-Harvest

Winery of the Year

Weis Vineyards
Hammondsport, NY
(Finger Lakes Region)

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is proud to announce the following “Best of Category” winners:

Best White Wine

Weis Vineyards
2020 Winzer Select Riesling A

Best Sparkling Wine

Dr. Konstantin Frank
2017 Blanc De Blanc

Best Red Wine

Keuka Lake Vineyards
2020 Leon Millot

Best Pink Wine

Weis Vineyards
2021 Dry Rosé

Best Dessert Wine (Tie)

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards
Solera Sherry
Wölffer Estate Vineyard
2020 Diosa Late-Harvest

2022 best specialty wine

Best Specialty Wine

Winery of Ellicottville
Red Raspberry Wine

Scroll down for the list of “Best in Class” winners, and a link to download the full list of competition results.

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is proud to announce the following “Best of Class” winners:

CLASS WINE SCORE
Best Cabernet Franc Osprey’s Dominion 2015 Cabernet Franc, North Fork of Long Island, $27  96
Best Cabernet Sauvignon Fox Run Vineyards 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, Seneca Lake $25 95
Best Chardonnay (Oaked)
Best Overall Chardonnay
Milea Estate Vineyard 2020 Estate Vineyard Reserve, Chardonnay, New York State. $28 94
Best Chardonnay (Unoaked) Glenora Wine Cellars 2021 Chardonnay, Finger Lakes. $13  92
Best Dry Riesling Château LaFayette Reneau 2019 Dry, Riesling, Seneca Lake 1.5% rs. $15  93
Best Force Carbonation/Transfer Method Sparkling Sheldrake Point Winery 2020 Riesling Bubbles, Finger Lakes 1.4% rs. $20 93
Best Fortified Port-Like Damiani Wine Cellars 2013 Gem Dessert Wine, Gewürztraminer, Finger Lakes, 18.05% rs. $38/500ml  95
Best Fruit Wine Winery of Ellicottville NV Red Raspberry Wine, New York State 9% rs. $18/375 ml  94
Best Gewürztraminer Prejean Winery 2020 Semi-Dry, Gewürztraminer, Finger Lakes 2% rs. $17  92
Best Lemberger/Blaufränkisch Knapp Winery 2020 Blaufränkisch, Cayuga Lake, $21 95
Best Medium-Dry Riesling Three Brothers Wineries & Estates 2020 First Degree Off-Dry, Riesling, Finger Lakes 1.2% rs. $17 93
Best Medium-Sweet Riesling Bravery Wines 2020 Riesling, Finger Lakes 2% rs. $28  94
Best Merlot Harbes Vineyard 2014 Barrel Fermented, Merlot, North Fork of Long Island, $55 95
Best Other Red Vinifera Varietal Suhru Wines 2020 Teroldego, North Fork of Long Island. $30 95
Best Other Vinifera White Varietal Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Rkatsiteli, Finger Lakes 1.05% rs. $18 94
Best Overall Riesling Weis Vineyards 2020 Winzer Select A, Riesling, Finger Lakes $26  95
Best Pétillant Naturel  Atwater Estate Vineyards 2021 Pétillant Naturel, Finger Lakes. $26  92
Best Pinot Gris Hector Wine Company 2020 Pinot Gris, Seneca Lake. $19  93
Best Pinot Noir McCall Wines 2014 Corchaug Estate Reserve, Pinot Noir, North Fork of Long Island. $69  93
Best Red Blend Vinifera Osprey’s Dominion 2015 Flight Meritage, North Fork of Long Island $39 95
Best Rosé (0 to 2% RS) Weis Vineyards 2021 Dry Rosé, Finger Lakes. $19  96
Best Sauvignon Blanc Bravery Wines 2020 Bébé, Sauvignon Blanc, Finger Lakes. $22  93
Best Syrah Château LaFayette Reneau 2017 Syrah, Seneca Lake. $21  93
Best Traditional Method Sparkling Dr. Konstantin Frank 2017 Blanc De Blanc, Finger Lakes $39 95
Best White Blend Non-Vinifera Keuka Spring Vineyards NV Crooked Lake White Blend, Finger Lakes 1.75% rs. $14  92
Best White Blend Vinifera Hector Wine Company 2020 Sauvling White Blend, Seneca Lake. $22  92

Competition Rules

The competition is open to any wine produced in and bearing an approved New York AVA as established by the TTB.

A complete listing of New York AVAs can be found here: https://www.ttb.gov/wine/established-avas#New-York

  • Finger Lakes/Cayuga/Seneca
  • Hudson River/Upper Hudson River
  • Lake Champlain
  • Lake Erie
  • Long Island/North Fork/Hamptons
  • New York/New York State
  • Niagara Escarpment OR a New York County


The competition is also open to specialty wines (non-grape wines) and mead produced in New York State.

Non-grape wines and mead will have their own award and are not eligible for the Governor’s Cup round.

  • All entries must be commercially available in New York state at the time of entry
  • All bottles must have a government-approved label attached
  • Varietal wines must contain 75% of the labeled grape variety, otherwise it must be entered as a blend
  • In order to be eligible for the Winery of the Year Award, a winery must enter seven (7) or more grape wines
  • There will only be a Best of Class winner for a given class if there are 7 or more entries in the class and at least one entry achieves a gold medal.

FAQs

BTI’s Points-to-Medals conversion scale:

  • 96-100 – Superlative (Platinum Medal)
  • 90-95 – Exceptional (Gold Medal)
  • 85-89 – Highly Recommended (Silver Medal)
  • 80-84 – Recommended (Bronze Medal)
  • 79/NR – Not Recommended (No Medal)


For this engagement, BTI’s Platinum medal would be equivalent to a Double Gold medal.

You can read more about BTI’s methodology and judging panel at: https://bevtest.com/lab/

Top award winners will be announced live during the 2022 Classic Virtual Awards Ceremony on July 12th. The complete list of individual wine results will be released following the event and published on our website.

Still have questions?

If you are a winery with questions regarding submissions reach out to BTI’s Client Marketing Manager via e-mail Diana@bevtest.com or call 773-930-4080.

If you have any questions regarding this year’s competition, reach out to Jennifer Cooper, Membership & Events Manager at: jennifercooper@nywgf.org or call 315-924-3706.