The next time you run to the store, you might be tempted to grab a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley or a pinot noir from France.
But, instead of buying wine from other places around the world, why not support Colorado’s hard-working grape growers and wine makers instead?
If you’re not sure where to begin, look no further than the winners of the 2025 Governor’s Cup Collection. Every year, judges sip and sample their way through bottle after bottle to select the 12 best wines. (The governor doesn’t personally choose the best Colorado wines of the year, but he does stand behind the judges’ selections.)
This year, 53 wineries submitted 251 wines for judging. The panel was made up of 16 individuals ranging from Colorado sommeliers and wine professionals to wine writers and wine experts from around the country. They performed a blind tasting, meaning they only knew the grape variety or category of a wine and the vintage, but not the producer or any other identifying information.
This year, for the first time, the competition was opened up to include wines from Idaho, Arizona and New Mexico. Within Colorado, 42 wineries and meaderies submitted entries. Outside of Colorado, submissions came in from eight Idaho wineries, one Arizona winery and one New Mexico meadery.
“This year began a new chapter for the competition, since we received entries from wineries across the Intermountain West,” says Kyle Schlachter, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, part of the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
The submissions “gave judges a wider regional perspective and allowed Colorado wines to stand out on an even broader stage,” he adds. “The resulting Governor’s Cup Collection is a stunning showcase of excellence, with standout selections ranging from aromella to zweigelt.”
The judges whittled down the submissions to just 12 wines—seven red and five white—from nine different wineries to form the 2025 Colorado Governor’s Cup Wine Collection, which represents Colorado wine around the state and across the country. In total, they awarded 22 Double Gold medals, 17 Gold medals, 131 Silver medals and 68 Bronze medals. The judges also recognized a best mead—Kold Prairie Mead’s Ethereal—outside of the Governor’s Cup Collection honors.
“The judges were very impressed with the high quality of Colorado wines this year—evidenced by the record number of Double Gold wines,” says Schlachter. “These 12 wines should excite all wine lovers in Colorado and beyond.”
Some of this year’s judges included Caroline Clark, director of beverage and hospitality at Id Est, which operates Basta, The Wolf’s Tailor, Brutø, OK Yeah, Dry Storage and Hey Kiddo in Colorado; Doug Frost, master of wine and master sommelier; Scott Thomas, wine director at Restaurant Olivia in Denver; and Tonya Pitts, sommelier and wine reviewer at Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
“Kudos to the adventurous winemakers and grape growers who aren’t afraid to experiment with lesser known varieties that have real potential in our climate,” says Clark. “It’s abundantly clear that these approaches will define the region. It was a joy to taste through the 2025 submissions and envision a not-too-distant future where bright, balanced and concentrated Colorado wine takes its place on the world stage.”
In addition to being named to the 2025 Colorado Governor’s Cup Collection, Sauvage Spectrum won Best in Show and Best Red Wine for its 2024 zweigelt while Fox Fire Farms won Best White Wine for its 2024 aromella.
Zweigelt, a red grape variety that’s popular in Austria, is particularly trendy this year, with two Zweigelts included in this year’s iconic Governor’s Cup Collection— one from Sauvage Spectrum and another from Blanchard Family Wines. Governor Jared Polis described Sauvage Spectrum’s version as “bright, fresh and fruity.”
“Zweigelt may be Austrian by birth, but here in Colorado’s high desert, it takes on an identity that’s entirely its own—vibrant, with a simple complexity,” says Patric Matysiewski, co-founder and winemaker at Sauvage Spectrum.
2025 Colorado Governor’s Cup Collection
- Blanchard Family Wines (Denver) – 2024 Zweigelt, Grand Valley AVA
- Carboy Winery (Littleton, Denver, Breckenridge, and Palisade) – 2022 Cabernet Franc, Grand Valley AVA
- Continental Divide Winery (Fairplay) – 2023 Rkatsiteli, Grand Valley AVA
- Fox Fire Farms (Ignacio) – 2024 Aromella, Colorado
- Mesa Winds Winery (Hotchkiss) – 2023 Cabernet Franc, Grand Valley AVA and 2023 Petit Verdot, Grand Valley AVA
- Sauvage Spectrum (Palisade) – 2024 Zweigelt, Grand Valley AVA
- Stone Cottage Cellars (Paonia) – 2022 Petite Sirah, Grand Valley AVA and 2024 Pinot Gris, West Elks AVA
- The Peachfork (Palisade) – 2023 Chambourcin, Grand Valley AVA
- The Storm Cellar (Hotchkiss) – 2024 Albariño, Grand Valley AVA and 2023 Grüner Veltliner, Grand Valley AVA
