LEXINGTON, Ky. — Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery of Shepherdsville became the first Kentucky winery to win the Commissioner’s Cup for the top Kentucky wine in more than one category at the 2014 Kentucky Commonwealth Commercial Wine Competition & Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday in Lexington.

“In just its second year, this event was very competitive with more medals and more double golds awarded than last year,” Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. “We established the competition as a rigorous test for Kentucky’s wineries, and they rose to the challenge.”

Wight-Meyer’s Vignoles was voted Best Dry White wine, and its “Pine Creek Summer” earned honors as Best Sweet/Dessert/Fruit wine. Other Commissioner’s Cup awards went to Old 502 Winery of Louisville, “Bourbon Barrel Red,” Best Dry Red wine; StoneBrook Winery of Camp Springs, Dry Rosé 2013, Best Rosé/Blush Wine; and Baker-Bird Winery, Augusta, “Kentucky Black Barrel 2012,” Best Boutique (Small Production) Wine.

To claim the Commissioner’s Cup, a wine must earn at least a gold medal in Commercial competition and must be produced from at least 75 percent Kentucky fruit, said Tyler Madison, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Grape & Wine Marketing Program manager.

Two wines from Old 502 Winery earned double gold medals, making Old 502 the first winery in the brief history of the event to win more than one in the same competition. A wine from Baker-Bird Winery also took double-gold-medal honors. The double golds signify that each judge independently awarded gold-medal status to the wine. The three double-gold winners were:

•           “Bach’s Wine,” Old 502, made from Chambourcin and Concord grapes;

•           “Bore Dough,” Old 502, made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Merlot grapes; and

•           “Black Barrel Cabernet,” Baker-Bird Winery, made from Cabernet Franc grapes.

Baker-Bird and Old 502 each also entered a gold-medal-winning wine. Other gold medals went to wines from Misty Meadow Winery of Owensboro (3), Purple Toad Winery of Paducah (3), Wight-Meyer (3), StoneBrook Winery (2), Prodigy Winery of Frankfort, Reid’s Livery Winery of Alvaton, Rising Sons Winery of Lawrenceburg, and Wildside Winery of Versailles.

The 144 entries from 23 Kentucky vintners earned a total of 17 gold medals, 64 silver medals, and 43 bronze medals, Madison said.

Madison said the annual showcase is becoming a reliable guide “for those looking to locate the best wines Kentucky has to offer each year” from the more than 70 Kentucky wineries.

For the complete list of medalists, along with information about eligibility standards and the judging procedure, visit http://competition.kentuckywine.com/.

Press release courtesy of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.