Gray Ghost turns heads on West Coast
Gray Ghost’s 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon earned Double Gold honors at the 20th anniversary of the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in California.
Consider it was the only East Coast Cabernet to take Double Gold honors across seventeen different Cabernet Sauvignon categories.
Over 800 of the entries were Cabernet Sauvignon. The largest competition of North American wines in the world, the San Francisco Chronicle received 6,700 entries from 1,000 wineries across the country.
“A double gold occurs when all judges vote the wine a gold. It has to be unanimous. A double gold is what all wineries hope for when judging a wine,” according to Cary Fraser, wine entry coordinator.
Meanwhile, the Amissville winery’s 2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon earned Gold medal honors in the ultra-premium Cabernet category at the 2020 East Meets West Wine Challenge, also in California. Gray Ghost swept both wine competitions, earning a total of 11 medals for all wines entered.
“Winning Double Gold and Gold honors at back-to-back competitions in California are the highest reward to our winemaking efforts,” said Al Kellert, Gray Ghost owner and winemaker. “California Cabernets are famous across the globe and to be recognized for producing that level of quality is the acknowledgement we work towards.”
One of Virginia’s oldest wineries, Gray Ghost has been growing grapes for 33 years in Rappahannock County and celebrates its 26th anniversary this year. The tasting room is open during the winter, Saturdays and Sundays, from 12 am to 5 p.m.