Pirtle Winery of Weston earned two honors at the 2026 Missouri Governor’s Cup Wine Competition, including a Best of Class award for its Mellow Red wine.

The winery’s Atomic Hard Cider also received the award for Best Alternative Packaging in the competition’s wine label division.

The annual competition was held July 14-16 in Columbia and featured 277 wines from across Missouri. Eight judges spent two days evaluating the entries through blind tastings, awarding 61 gold, 103 silver and 65 bronze medals.

Adam Puchta Winery received the competition’s top honor, the Governor’s Cup, for its 2025 Dry Vignoles. The award recognizes the best wine entered in the statewide competition. Winners from each Best of Class category competed for the title.

“We are incredibly honored to receive the Governor’s Cup once again,” said Parker Puchta, seventh-generation owner of Adam Puchta Winery. “Awards like this are never the result of just one person. It’s something we’re all proud of because it reflects the hard work and dedication of so many people.”

Puchta said the winery spent the past year evaluating its winemaking process, experimenting with different yeasts and enzymes and refining its techniques. He credited the winery’s employees, grape growers, customers and colleagues throughout the industry for contributing to the award-winning wine.

Adam Puchta Winery also received Best of Class honors for its 2025 Chambourcin, Dry Rosé and Rosé Bubbly.

Pirtle Winery’s Mellow Red was named Best of Class in the sweet red category. Other Best of Class winners included wines from Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery, Noboleis Vineyards, Mathany Family Vineyards, Windy Wine Company, Dale Hollow Winery and Hermannhof Winery.

Two awards recognizing Missouri’s wine heritage also were presented. The 2024 Norton from Les Bourgeois Vineyards received the C.V. Riley Award for the competition’s best Norton wine. The award honors Missouri’s first state-appointed entomologist, whose research helped save the French wine industry from destructive pests.

Defiance Ridge Vineyards received the Husmann-Jaeger Award for its 2025 Poppy’s Vidal Blanc. The award recognizes the competition’s best white varietal wine and is named for George Husmann and Hermann Jaeger, considered forefathers of Missouri’s wine industry.

The competition also recognized the artistry of wine labels and packaging for the sixth year. In addition to Pirtle Winery’s packaging award, Noboleis Vineyards won Best Traditional Label, Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyards won Best Contemporary Label, and Mount Pleasant Estates won Best Wine Series.

Nearly 1,000 people voted in the label competition’s People’s Choice Award, selecting Defiance Ridge Vineyards’ Lauren Sweet Vignoles.

“These wines will be showcased at state and local events highlighting the skill, dedication and passion of our wineries and winemakers,” said Jim Anderson, executive director of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board.

Winning wines will be displayed Aug. 13-23 at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.