Stone Hill Winery just received the rare Trifecta winning the prestigious Governor’s Cup, the highest award at the Missouri Wine Competition, for its 2022 Cross J Norton, along with the C.V. Riley Award for being the best Norton as well as the Best of Class Dry Red! Stone Hill also took home four other Best of Class distinctions and in celebration of their achievements, these 2024 Missouri Wine Competition wines are available before their true release dates for a very short time in the salesroom in Hermann through August 18th, 2024. In the future each winning wine will become available again as their vintage release dates occur.
“Once again, I am deeply honored to win the Missouri Governor’s Cup. It is especially meaningful to win this award with our 2022 Cross J Norton,” said Jon Held, President of Stone Hill Winery. “The Cross J is a single vineyard Norton and a tribute to my late father, Jim, the “J” following the Cross. This makes seven consecutive Governor’s Cups for Best Missouri Wine by Stone Hill and five consecutive C.V. Riley Awards for the best Norton. My goal has always been to make the finest wines possible from our estate grown grapes. Achieving this goal is only possible with a truly incredible team in the vineyard and winery. They deserve all the credit for our consistently superb wines.”
The Missouri Wine Competition is run by the State of Missouri’s Wine and Grape Board and features national and regional wine experts and sommeliers as judges for the two-day blind tasting. Over 235 wines were entered into the competition this year, with only one receiving the coveted Governor’s Cup and the title of Best Missouri Wine. In addition to receiving the Governor’s Cup and C.V. Riley award for the 2022 Cross J Norton, the winery received Best of Class distinctions 2022 Cross J Norton (Dry Red category), 2022 Ozark Hellbender (Semi-Dry Red category), 2023 Vignoles (Sweet White category), 2020 Port (Dessert category), and Peach (Fruit category). Stone Hill Winery received an additional 10 gold, 19 silver, and 7 bronze medals for its wines.
The C.V. Riley Award for the Best Norton in the state, was created in 2011 by the Missouri Wine and Grape Board. Norton grapes have been grown in Missouri for close to 200 years and is one of North America’s oldest grape variety commercially grown today. Norton was adopted as Missouri’s State grape in 2003 and makes up about 20% of the grapes grown in the state. C.V. Riley was Missouri’s first State Entomologist and is famous for identifying the insect Phylloxera as the cause of the grape vine death devastating the vineyards in Europe in the lase 19th century. The French have statues in honor of C.V. Riley, so it seemed fitting that Missouri’s industry honor him by naming an award after him.
Separately, recently at the Decanter World Wine Awards this year the winery received three 90+ top scores. The Decanter World Wine Awards is the “world’s largest and most influential wine competition.” Run by Decanter Magazine, the leading global wine publication, this year’s competition saw over 18,300 wine entries from 57 countries judged by 243 of the world’s foremost wine experts. At the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards, Stone Hill Winery’s Cream Sherry received a 94 pt rating, the highest ever rating for a Midwest wine at the competition. In addition, the winery’s 2021 Chambourcin received a 92 pt rating (this wine has not been released yet and is not currently available) and the 2021 Late Harvest Vignoles received a 90 pt rating.
“It always feels incredible to get honors from an international competition, particularly one as prestigious as the Decanter awards. The global wine community is acknowledging the hard work we are doing to create world-class wines right here in Missouri. The accolades are a testament of our team’s efforts, without which our success would not be possible,” said Nathan Held, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Stone Hill Winery.
- 2022 Cross J Norton is a rich and complex estate grown single vineyard red varietal exuding flavors of black cherry, Black Doris plums, earthy black pepper, mocha, and sage with bright acidity and plush tannins. Careful fermentation on the skins is followed by 12 months of aging in European and American oak creating an age-worthy bold wine.
- Cream Sherry is a luxuriously sweet, fragrant, and complex fortified dessert wine. It possesses the rich, nutty flavor and aroma characteristic of traditional sherry, which develops during extended aging in old, small oak barrels.
- 2021 Late Harvest Vignoles is a luscious dessert wine similar to the great Sauternes of France. Flavors of preserved pineapple and candied orange with dried apricot undertones complement the rich and balanced acidity and lingering finish.
- 2021 Chambourcin is a medium bodied approachable red with dark fruit and chocolate notes paired with earthy complexity. Fermented on the skins and aged for 12 months in European and American oak, it is a great partner for meals and can be aged for years to come.