Aurora Cellars won all three of its Jefferson Cups for white vinifera wine: A 2020 Riesling Dry, a 2020 Gewürztraminer Medium Sweet, and a 2020 Grüner Veltliner.

By Mark Urban | November 24, 2021

MISSION, Kansas — Aurora Cellars was apparently on a mission.

Five entries from the Traverse Wine Coast — three from Aurora Cellars in Lake Leelanau — captured top honors at the 20th annual Jefferson Cup Invitational Nov. 4-5 in Mission, Kansas.

Aurora was one of three wineries to earn three Jefferson Cups. Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery (Basehor, Kansas) and Stone Hill Vineyard (Hermann, Missouri) were the only others in the competition to win the top honor three times.

A total of 34 earned Jefferson Cups, the sweepstakes awards for the competition. The top award went to 13 white wines, 12 red, one sparkling wine, one rosé, one mead, and six fruit or dessert wines, according to a release.

“While many competitions insist upon selecting a pre-ordained number of sweepstakes winners, our judges are allowed to find the top wines, whether there are only one, two or three, or even no winners in some categories, as has happened,” Jefferson Cup Invitational founder Doug Frost said in a release. “In previous years we’ve had muscadine wine as winners, and this year saw two fortified dessert wines and a fruit wine. There were once again great examples of wine, both from vinifera and non-vinifera grapes.”

Aurora Cellars won all three of its Jefferson Cups for white vinifera wine: A 2020 Riesling Dry, a 2020 Gewürztraminer Medium Sweet and a 2020 Grüner Veltliner.

Left Foot Charley in Traverse City also won a Jefferson Cup for white vinifera for its 2019 Le Caban Riesling from Old Mission Peninsula.

Two K Farms in Suttons Bay won a Jefferson Cup in the Fruit, Dessert and Fortified wine category with its Honeycrisp Ice.

“As an ardent fan of wines from the peninsulas around Traverse City, I’m delighted to see how our competition continues to highlight the excellence of these wines,” Frost said in a Traverse Wine Coast release. “Grapes like Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and more are being crafted into world class wines. The recent success at the Jefferson Cup merely provides more evidence of it.”

In addition to the five Jefferson Cup awards, Traverse Wine Coast wineries captured six gold, 23 silver and three bronze medals.

“This is yet another competition that attests to the quality of the wines created in this region,” Traverse Wine Coast President Sherri Campbell Fenton said in a release. “We glimpse at the quality during the harvest process, we hear confirmation upon our customer’s tasting experience, and yet it’s always nice to receive national professional recognition.”

The Jefferson Cup event is by invitation only.

The 2021 competition featured 750 wines from 27 states. Of the 750 submissions, 143 won bronze medals, 304 took silver, 78 claimed gold and 26 captured double gold medals, according to a release.

Traverse Wine Coast represents more than 40 wineries from Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas.

Wine Coast winners beyond the five Jefferson Cup Awards included:

• • • Amoritas Vineyards: Gold for 2020 Fascinator, four silver medals
    • Aurora: Gold for 2017 Blaufrankisch, two silver medals
    • Brengman Brothers: Four silver medals
    • Chateau Chantal: One silver medal
    • Good Harbor Vineyards: Gold medals for Blanc de Blanc and 2019 Chardonnay Unoaked, four silver medals
    • Left Foot Charley: Two silver medals, one bronze medal
    • Mawby Sparkling Wine: One silver medal, one bronze medal
    • Rove Estate: Gold for 2020 Ragaire Rose, two silver medals
    • Two K Farms: Gold for 2019 Pommeau, three silver medals, one bronze medal

A complete list of the Jefferson Cup Award winners and a full list of all the 2021 awards is available at http://thejeffersoncup.com/.