The Sweet Taste of Victory: 2025 Monticello Cup Champion

Winemaker Damien Blanchon received this year’s Monticello Cup for his 2024 Albariño at the gala Gold Medal Celebration at the Bradbury on the Downtown Mall. This prestigious recognition – the 33rd year of the annual competition held by the Monticello Wine Trail – celebrates the best wines of the Monticello AVA and requires wines to contain at least 85% fruit from the region.

What makes this victory particularly meaningful is the growing popularity of Albariño in Virginia. There were 12 Albariño wines entered in the Governor’s Cup this year — including five Gold Medal winners — up from eight entries in 2024 and four in 2023. Afton Mountain’s triumph represents not just individual excellence, but leadership in expanding Virginia’s varietal horizons.

Albariño typically produces a medium-bodied wine with elevated acidity and tropical fruit notes — which is to say, it’s a food friendly wine that goes well with shellfish and soft cheese, but it’s also great for chilling on a hot summer day. When you taste Afton Mountain’s award-winning Albariño during your Nelson 151 adventure, you’re experiencing the perfect marriage of Spanish varietal expertise and Virginia terroir.

Sustainability as Winemaking Philosophy

What sets Afton Mountain apart isn’t just their award-winning results – it’s their authentic commitment to environmental stewardship that has guided their practices for over a decade. Damien’s practices in the vineyard focus on sustainability, using fungicides sparingly and avoiding the use of insecticides. This isn’t trendy marketing – it’s fundamental to how they approach winemaking.

About five years ago Blanchon introduced an herbal spray practice, where he concocts teas like chamomile and oak bark, along with dandelion, nettle leaf, milfoil grass, and more, and sprays them onto the vines. Drawing from traditional French practices, this approach requires patience and expertise. “This practice is popular in France. It takes a few years to see how the vines will accept the sprays and how they will affect them,” Blanchon explains. “So far, it’s helped us minimize the number of times we had to spray the vines in one season.”

Working with Nature, Not Against It

Afton Mountain’s sustainability efforts extend beyond just reducing chemical inputs. The team has planted wildflowers to attract bees and spiders around the vines to keep fruit flies away. This holistic approach demonstrates what we mean when we talk about authentic stewardship – creating an ecosystem that supports both wine quality and environmental health.

The vines are adapted to their environment using a minimum of chemical products like pesticide fungicide or herbicide. These practices enable us to harvest well-balanced quality grapes that make our wines with very low interventions. This philosophy of minimal intervention extends throughout their winemaking process, allowing the unique characteristics of their elevated vineyard site to shine through.

Innovation Rooted in History

Afton Mountain is the state’s first gravity-flow facility, constructed on multiple levels built into the hillside. This innovative approach reduces the need for pumps and mechanical handling, treating grapes with the gentleness that sustainable winemaking demands. It’s exactly the kind of thoughtful infrastructure that reflects long-term commitment to both quality and environmental responsibility.

The gravity-flow design isn’t just about sustainability – it’s about expressing terroir. By allowing gravity to move wine through the production process, Afton Mountain ensures that their unique vineyard site characteristics translate directly into the glass without unnecessary manipulation.

Experience Sustainable Excellence

When you visit Afton Mountain Vineyards during your Nelson 151 adventure, you’re experiencing more than just award-winning wines. The glass-enclosed Pavilion provides indoor seating and temperature control. Visitors can get comfortable at several tables and a few lounge-style settings with elegant couches. Outdoor tables are plentiful and spaced far enough for leashed dogs or playful little ones to frolic.

The experience reflects their values – comfortable, authentic, and connected to the land. Whether you’re tasting their Monticello Cup-winning Albariño, exploring their diverse portfolio of 11 varieties, or simply enjoying 360-degree mountain views, you’re supporting a business that proves sustainability and excellence are inseparable.

The Future of Virginia Wine

As your authentic guides to Nelson 151, we’re inspired by how Afton Mountain Vineyards demonstrates that environmental stewardship and award-winning quality strengthen each other. Their Monticello Cup victory isn’t despite their sustainable practices – it’s because of them.

Damien and his team work diligently to implement sustainable and environmentally respectful practices both inside the winery and outside in the vineyard. This commitment represents the future of Virginia winemaking – where respect for place, minimal intervention, and long-term thinking create wines that truly express their terroir.

Ready to taste award-winning sustainability in action? Visit nelson151.com to plan your Afton Mountain Vineyards experience and discover why their combination of Monticello Cup excellence and environmental stewardship makes them an essential stop on Virginia’s most authentic craft beverage trail.

Because great wine tastes even better when it respects the land that makes it possible.