18 Traveling Vineyard wines earned medals for quality and taste in 2020, including our Double Gold 2018 Cucharón Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina! Meet all of our 2020 award winning wines.
Finding amazing wine doesn’t just happen. It takes months, and sometimes years, of watching and waiting (and sampling) high-quality wines from growers across the globe for our expert team to find the wines that deserve the Traveling Vineyard label—and bring them to you at prices that fit a real-life budget. We’ve proven year after year that real good wine doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars (nor should it!)—and in 2020 we’re proud that 18 more of our wines have earned that proof by receiving medals from distinguished judges across multiple international wine competitions. Here are our best of 2020 award-winning wines!
Gold Medal Wines
Two wines earned top honors with Double Gold and Gold in 2020.
Pop the cork on a Double Gold under $20 with our 2018 Cucharón Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina. This blend combines three signature grapes from Argentina—Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Tannat—for an impressive finished wine that’s so good with long-simmering and stewed meals we named it “ladle” in Spanish. Cucharón earned Double Gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, an honor given to wines that receive a Gold rating from every judge on the panel.
Our 2019 Lulo, Monterey County Grüner Veltliner is a full-bodied white that was bottled to delight. This trending white wine impressed judges at the World Wine Championships, a wine competition by the Beverage Testing Institute, which opens up specific varietal categories and other specialty categories throughout the year for review. A Gold medal means that the wine is an “exceptional” wine with a point rating of 90 to 95. Judges described 2019 Lulo as “a highly appealing Grüner Veltliner with the silkiest texture; memorable balance delights with notes of tropical fruit dancing with refreshing minerality.”
Silver Medal Wines
Eleven of our wines took Silver honors this year.
At the top of the list is customer favorite 2017 Small Hours, Lodi Zinfandel, with a Silver medal awarded by the World Wine Championships, making it a “highly recommended” wine. Judges described 2017 Small Hours as “fruity medium-full body and a warming, very complex, very long tobacco and pink peppercorns finish with well-integrated, medium tannins and heavy oak flavor. Rich fruit, toasty tobacco-like oak, and a big pop of acidity are sure to please.”
Our 2018 Lazy Lab, Wahluke Slop Cabernet Sauvignon label made its debut with a Cabernet made from organic grapes grown in Washington state. This newbie scored big with our wine lovers (making the top seller list 16 weeks in a row), and scored a Silver medal from the judges at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
Chardonnay is always on the menu, and we always look for the right wine to bear the Steeple Street label year after year. 2018 Steeple Street, Lodi Chardonnay, and its Silver medal recognition at the World Wine Championships showed us that we found a winner in 2020. Judges described this wine as having “aromas and flavors of plantains, ripe pear, caramel on yogurt, marshmallow, and graham cracker with a silky, crisp, dry-yet-fruity light body and a smooth, buoyant finish with accents of ghee with a suggestion of oak flavor.” Not only that, but they called it, “a gulp-able Chardonnay for anytime enjoyment.”
2016 Li Per Te, Veneto IGT Rosso Leggermente Appassita, Italy, another Silver winner this year, was described as “romance in a bottle” by one super fan—smooth enough for those new to reds, but pleasing to those who regularly reach for an Italian red. Judges at the World Wine Championships gave 2016 Lí Per Te agreed, and called it “fruit, juicy and smooth, and rich and full,” ready to drink on its own as well as a “bold Italian red for rich meals.”
Other Silver sippers this year included:
- 2018 LUXX, Merlot, California
- 2018 Calamity Sue, Monterey County Riesling
- 2018 Jitterbug, Lodi Sauvignon Blanc (sold out)
- 2018 Bentgate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles (sold out)
- 2018 La Screaming Goat, Gewürztraminer, Cesseras Pays d’Oc IGP, France (sold out)
Bronze Medal Wines
Five fan favorites were awarded Bronze medals in 2020.
2019 Caballeria de Luna, White Wine, Penedès, Spain is a semisweet white wine made from three unique varietals—Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Muscat—that judges at the World Wine Championship recommended as a “soft, simple quaffer for anytime sipping.” We love it for its accessibility and taste, which our Director of Sommology, Leslie Sbrocco described as “sorbet in a glass.”
2019 Desvia, Tempranillo Eco, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain, was another winner this year, known for its big, pure fruit aromas and flavors balanced with and by the agricultural and sustainable winemaking elements. This wine is certified organic in Spain and comes recommended by the World Wine Championship panel of judges who described it as follows: “smooth, medium-length finish displaying elements of hints of chocolate, red apple, hazelnut, and baking spices with moderate oak flavor. A jammy-crowd-pleasing red.”
Other Bronze medal wines this year included:
- Pebble, Viognier, California (sold out) | World Wine Championships
- 2019 Smirk, Western Cape Muscat, South Africa (sold out) | New World International Wine Competition
- Tanglerose, Fireside Red lot 19B (sold out)| New World International Wine Competition
Did you have the opportunity to experience one of our medal winners? View all 2020 and 2019 winners here and stock up for the new year with free shipping on orders of six or more bottles. Be sure and leave your review for your favorite! Cheers to more amazing wine in 2021!