Greetings, Michigan Wineries, and a warm welcome to the 2025!
As we enter our third year hosting this esteemed event, Beverage Testing Institute (BevTest) is delighted to continue our partnership with the Michigan Wine Collaborative in evaluating and scoring your outstanding wines. With over 40 years of sensory analysis expertise, we are honored to collaborate with the Michigan wine community and leverage our exposure on tastings.com to consumer readers.
As the featured critic on wine-searcher.com, our scores and ratings take center stage on their site, reaching an impressive audience of 330-plus million unique wine searches annually. Opting for the Full Review option will significantly amplify the consumer reach of your published wine reviews.
At BevTest, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering fair, consistent, and thoughtful reviews of your wines. We encourage you to reach out for any inquiries, insights into our process, or to explore how we can contribute to the success of your winery.
We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to sample your current vintages and showcase your Michigan wines to our esteemed trade judges and the ever-curious consumer audience. Here's to another year of celebrating the excellence of Michigan's winemaking industry!
Please confirm your information and set your password to continue with your participation in the 2025 Michigan Governor’s Cup Competition.
If you have already registered,
Click Here to login or recover your password.
There are two entry options that provide different levels of promotional tools and deliverables detailed below. Both options are for the same competition, the Michigan Governor’s Cup Competition.
Option 1 -
Competition-Only
$110/wine for non-members
$95/wine for MWC members
Includes:
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100-point based score (no tasting note, no published review)
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Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze winners based on BevTest’s Points-to-Medals conversion scale*
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Emailed award certificate PDFs for each medal winning wine (Non-winning wines do not receive certificates)
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Best of Class and/or Best of Category eligibility, certificates provided for qualifying wines
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Winery-focused, confidential constructive criticism and feedback from trade buyers
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Full results list with final awards emailed to competition committee person at Michigan Wine Collaborative at the conclusion of the competition on May 31, 2025
Option 2 -
Full Published Review Option
$165/wine for non-members
$150/wine for MWC members
Includes:
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100-point based score
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Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze winners based on BevTest’s Points-to-Medals conversion scale*
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Emailed award certificate PDFs for each medal winning wine (Non-winning wines do not receive certificates)
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Best of Class and/or Best of Category eligibility, certificates provided for qualifying wines Consumer-facing tasting note
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Three-year publication of review on Tastings.com for all awarded wines (will include score, medal, tasting note, pairing suggestions, category info, and more) Click here for an example
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“Buy-It-Now” button that links your wines’ review page to your e-commerce solution
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Exceptional wines will be included in Tastings.com homepage features
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Full results list with final awards emailed to competition committee person at Michigan Wine Collaborative at the conclusion of the competition on May 31, 2024
Michigan Wine Collaborative members will receive a promo code for a $15 discount of all entries. Please contact Brain Lillie for your code or membership information.
Option 2 - Volume Discounts
$165 each for 1-10 wines
$155 each for 11-20 wines
$145 each for 21+ wines
* BevTest’s Points-to-Medals conversion scale:
96-100 - Superlative (Platinum Medal)
90-95 - Exceptional (Gold Medal)
85-89 - Highly Recommended (Silver Medal)
80-84 - Recommended (Bronze Medal)
79/NR - Not Recommended (No Medal)
REGISTRATION DEADLINE AND RESULTS SCHEDULE
Entries are accepted and progressively reviewed starting February 15, 2025. Competition results will be distributed
directly to the Michigan Wine Collaborative on May 31, 2025
Enter by: March 21st
Results Received: TBD
HOW TO ENTER
- Review the Competition Rules
- Enter online through the BevTest Client Portal via the REGISTER tab of this landing page.
- Ship your samples to arrive no later than March 3rd
DEADLINE
- Registration deadline: March 21st (Entry) Samples due no later than March 21st
SHIPPING
Ship Two (2) 750 ml bottles or equivalent to:
The Lab c/o OK Imports
4849 North Milwaukee Avenue
Suite 303
Chicago, IL 60630
Provide shipper with our phone 773-930-4080 and email reviews@bevtest.com
Our facility is temperature-controlled, you may ship as early as you like. Bottles will be appropriately stored and cared for based on style.
Competition Categories
The Competition would have the following categories and corresponding 'Best of' awards:
Vinifera Red
Vinifera White
Hybrid Red
Hybrid White
Fortified (Port)
Sparkling
Fruit
Mead
Cider
Rosé
Sweet/Dessert (R.S. =5%)
Best of Show Awards: Best of Category, Governor’s Case Winners (highest ranking overall top 4 white wines, top 4 red wines, top sparkling, top rose, top cider, top mead), Governor’s Cup (highest scoring beverage all around).
All wines entered must be produced and bottled by licensed Michigan wineries and have a labeled Appellation of Origin of: Michigan, a county within MI, or an approved AVA that lies within MI.
2024 Michigan Governor’s Cup Competition Results Page
186 wines submitted and rated
11 days of judging
2025 Trade Judges: Christy Fuhrman, Janel Syron, Alex Basich, Liz Barrett, Nigal Vann, Nick Pagoria, Ellen Fox, Clint Johnson, Josefina Giuffre, Jackie Trabilsy
Sample Judge Feedback:
Wine: Pinot Grigio:
Panelist 1 Feedback: A bit more weight and fruit character than other MI Pinot Grigio and seems to be fully ripened thus leaving the green herb bitterness of the finish out of the picture on this wine.
Panelist 2 Feedback: Good on identifiable characters for a pinot gris on the nose. Subtle bitterness on the finish.
Panelist 4 Feedback: Varietally correct. Balanced with bright acidity.
Wine: Cabernet France Rose:
Panelist 1 Feedback: Cab Franc pyrazines are definitely present. A well made wine but I think most rosé drinkers want the light and fruity character of the fruit rather than the savory and green herbal notes.
Panelist 2 Feedback: Good weight body and acid structure while maintaining cab franc flavors. Great example.
Panelist 3 Feedback: a touch sanguine on the nose, light fruit profile. A little too tart on the mid-palate but it does carry the fruit to the finish.
Wine: Malbec:
Panelist 1 Feedback: Phenolic under ripeness and some bitterness on the finish. This leaner Malbec is nice but missing the purple and black fruit here is a bit disappointing. Over extracted and too much wine making with mediocre fruit.
Panelist 2 Feedback: Sour is the overriding note; thin, tart underripe cherries. Astringent.
Panelist 3 Feedback: I've had worse California Malbec so this is pretty good for a domestic example, but still not what it should be.
Panelist 4 Feedback: The fruit isn't ripe enough for this much extraction, it is creating an astringent note to the wine.