THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST in this year’s Virginia Wine Invitational produced by Libation Wine, Beer, and Spirits Awards! This document includes all the forms and instructions you will need to submit your entries.

 The Virginia Wine Invitational® is not affiliated with the Virginia Governor’s Cup® competition hosted by the Virginia Wineries Association.

Your initial registration and payment must be done online at www.VAWineInvitational.com You will use this paper document to submit your entries to the competition.

If you have any questions please send an e-mail to info@libationawards.com.

ELIGIBILITY AND CONDITIONS

1. Any commercial wine produced by a professional VIRGINIA winery may be entered.

2. There is no limit to the number of wines entered. However, no wine may be entered in more than one class category.

3. Wines entered in Competitions from previous years are welcome.

4. The Competition reserves the right to photograph any entry and reproduce it in catalogs, posters, publications, on our website, and in publicity issued by the Competition.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The Virginia Wine Invitational uses a modified 100-point Davis system. Entries will be adjudicated across 5 categories: Appearance, Aroma & Bouquet, Taste & Texture, Aftertaste, and Overall Impression. Each category is worth up to 20 points.

Medals are awarded as follows:

Gold: 90-100

Silver: 80-89

Bronze: 70-79

TASTING COMPETITION

Our quality-based scoring system allows for medals to be awarded through independent evaluation, rather than through comparison against other submissions. It is possible, and likely, that multiple gold, sliver, or bronze awards will be awarded in each category. Each entry also has 3 additional ways wineries can win in the competition. See panel below.

AWARDS AND RESULTS

Winners will be notified by e-mail during the week following the Competition.

FOUR WAYS TO WIN

There are FOUR WAYS for wineries to WIN for every submission:

Gold, Silver, & Bronze: Our panel of judges will be scoring each submission using a double blind, modified Davis scale. This point-based scoring system allows for multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards per category. By using this method of scoring and medaling, producers are not competing against each other, but rather being evaluated on an individual basis.

Best in Class: The top score holder in each category will be recognized as "Best in Class of 2024"

Winery of the Year: Submitting four or more items will automatically enter you into the running for Winery of the Year. The average score of each eligible winery’s submissions will determine winery of the year.

Bottle Art & Label Design: You spend a lot of time designing your labels- opt to have them adjudicated so they get the credit they deserve!