As tastes and grapes evolve, how much might the list of wine contest winners change in the coming years?

Dr. Joe Fiola has spent 25 years this month lending his expertise and ag passion to the University of Maryland Extension, where he’s responsible for a statewide viticulture and fruit and extension program. His viticulture and enology Research and Extension program focuses on variety testing, including clonal comparisons, new and imported varieties, as well as cultural practices. He oversees several experimental vineyards across the state, and conducts small-batch winemaking studies of the varieties and the experimental treatments. A step inside his production area and a look at (and taste of) the variety of wines he’s making is an eye-opening experience. One of his roles is assisting with coordinating the state wine competitions, which drew him to The Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore on Sept. 20 for the judging of the Governor’s Cup contest. It drew 163 wines from 27 producers. The list of winners was included in a press release posted by the Maryland Wineries Association (MWA), which put on the 35th annual event. A public ticketed event scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Windridge Vineyard in Darnestown, Montgomery County, will give attendees access to all of the top wines. In addition, the winners of the Governor’s Cup and Jack Aellen Cup will be announced. While the basics about the competition were all included in this previous story, one part of the coverage was held back. Fiola, who has been pushing the state’s grape growers and wineries to try new grapes and tweak their portfolio through his experimentation, was asked not only about the diversity of the winning wines but his perspective on the state’s overall transition in the vineyard and what stood out (and what didn’t) in this competition. It comes as so many wineries will be assessing the makeup of their vineyard after all of the damage caused by the much-publicized April 21 frost. Overall, he summarized this year’s Governor’s Cup contest as “a very, very good competition for overall quality. Some who usually do well did quite well and some others that I wasn’t used to seeing [also] got in, which is good for the future of the industry,” he said. Here’s Fiola, with the tape running, providing some in-depth answers to an assortment of questions from The Wine Classroom. On the grapes that usually win that didn’t do as well this year. “The biggest disappointment this year for me was Albariño. There were only three Albariños entered in the competition. Boordy, with their classic Landmark Alberino, won a gold again. While Albariño have been definitely improving and increasing in prevalence and winning high awards, there weren’t many entered. I’m not quite sure why. Chardonnay was another one that was really surprising. There were no high-level awards for varietal Chardonnay. The only Chardonnays that were in the golds and double golds were blends. There was a bunch of silvers, of course, and there was a good number of Chardonnays entered in the competition. They just didn’t show up as well. “Another one that was missing this year was Chambourcin. It got a few [awards], some silvers, but none of the real high award winners, not even the blends. And there was not as many entered as the past, as so many people are doing well with the viniferas now.”