Blumenhof Vineyards Wins Governor’s Cup

The 2011 Missouri Governor’s Cup, a prestigious award that recognizes the best wine in the state, went to Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery’s 2010 Valvin Muscat.

It was the first time Blumenhof has been awarded the coveted award.

The award-winning wine was selected at the 2011 Missouri Wine Competition by a panel of judges from across the United States. The judges tasted 266 wines that were submitted from 35 wineries before handing the top spot to Blumenhof.

The Governor’s Cup Awards Presentation and Proclamation was held May 10 at the Capitol building in Jefferson City. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and first lady Georganne Nixon presented the proclamation and Governor’s Cup trophy to Mark Blumenberg, owner and winemaker of Blumenhof Winery, and his son Eric Blumenberg.

Blumenhof Vineyards is located in Dutzow, near Augusta, which was the first official American Viticulture Area in the United States.

Blumenhof, “court of flowers,” in German, takes its name from the Blumenberg family’s ancestral farm in Germany. Beginning with its first vintage in 1986, Blumenhof Winery has been dedicated to growing, producing and bottling Missouri-grown varietal wines from their vineyard, which was established in 1979.

Not only was the award the first for Blumenhof, but for the grape as well. Valvin Muscat is a hybrid grape that was released by Cornell University in 2006. Blumenhof is the only winery in the state making the semi-sweet to sweet white wine.

“I think the grape makes an awesome wine,” said Mark Blumenberg, of the Valvin Muscat. “I honestly don’t feel that anything I did made that wine better. It’s all on the grapes. I’m just lucky enough to have guessed that it would be a good grape to plant a few years ago. The wine has lived up to my expectations every year.”