Fee-Bee wins Best of Show at the 2026 AWS competition
Leigh’s Garden Winery received the top award at the American Wine Society contest held on October 20–21, 2026. The judges also chose the category winners and awarded Double Gold medals to 27 wines.
Best of Show and category awards
At the 2026 AWS Commercial Wine Competition, held on October 20–21, 2026, panels of American Wine Society-trained and certified judges joined wine-industry professionals in assessing commercial entries through blind tasting. Decisions on quality and overall excellence were reached by panel consensus, with medals and the Best of Category and Best of Show distinctions awarded.1
Leigh’s Garden Winery’s Fee-Bee received both Best of Show and Best Hybrid. The 8 additional category results were Best White Vinifera for Vint Hill Craft Winery Petit Manseng “Madison”; Best Red Vinifera for 8 Chains North Tempranillo; the paired red-blend honors, Best Red Blend for Two Dogs Whine Old Meets New and Best Mixed Red Blend for JOLO 10th Anniversary; Best Rosé for Arrington Vineyards FireFly Rosé; Best Fruit Wine for E&J Gallo Barefoot Fruitscato Strawberry; Best Sparkling Wine for E&J Gallo Barefoot Bubbly Extra Dry; and Best Dessert Wine for Ferrante Vidal Blanc Ice Wine.1
The 27 Double Gold wines
The competition awarded Double Gold medals to 27 entries. The first group comprised 8 Chains North – 2023 Tempranillo; Arrington Vineyards – 2025 Firefly Rosé; Biltmore Estate Winery – 2022 The Hunt; Bordeleau Winery – Lot 5 Malbec; Carriage House Wineworks – 2023 Tannat; Chiselled Grape Winery – 2023 Sexy Petaluma Gap Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir; Chiselled Grape Winery – 2023 Sexy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon; Cypress Bend Vineyards – Sundown; and E&J Gallo – Barefoot Cellars Sauvignon Blanc.1
The list continued with E&J Gallo – Barefoot Cellars Rich Red Blend; E&J Gallo – Barefoot Fruitscato Pineapple; E&J Gallo – Barefoot Fruitscato Lemonade; E&J Gallo – Barefoot Fruitscato Strawberry; E&J Gallo – Barefoot Bubbly Extra Dry; Effingham Manor & Winery – 2023 Effingham Tannat; Ferrante – 2024 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine; Ferrante – 2025 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine; and JOLO – 10th Anniversary.1
The remaining recipients were JOLO – 2025 Pink; Leigh’s Garden Winery – Fee-Bee; Mountain Brook Vineyards – 2024 Petit Verdot; Mountain Brook Vineyards – 2024 BDX; Stone Hill Winery – 2025 Reserve Traminette; Stone Hill Winery – Steinberg Red; and Two Dogs Whine – Old Meets New. The final pair came from Vint Hill Craft Winery: 2025 Petit Manseng “Madison” and 2023 Tannat.1
The competition and the American Wine Society
AWS has run its commercial competition annually for more than 40 years. The American Wine Society was founded in 1967 and has about 6500 members across the United States, including wine enthusiasts, educators, winemakers and industry professionals.1
The organization connects members through local chapters, educational programs, wine competitions and its annual National Conference. Competition winners receive recognition through AWS publications, digital communications and industry outreach, and may be presented at the society’s educational events and tastings.1
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
