868 Estate Vineyards, Vidal Blanc Passito, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA 2017

The 2020 Governor's Cup winner: an ancient wine style from one of the state’s newer players. Following the passito method used for centuries in Italy to make vin santo, winemaker Carl DiManno picked Vidal grapes at early ripeness and laid out bunches on racks for a month of fan-driven air-drying before pressing drops of concentrated juice from the raisined fruit. Tropical sweetness on the nose leads to surprisingly restrained flavours of apricot, raisins, honey, green tea and lemon zest.