June 12, 2026 (Virginia) — Libation™, one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent wine, beer, spirits, and lifestyle competition brands, today announced the launch of the 2026 American Heritage Wine Competition, a national wine competition dedicated to celebrating American native, hybrid, historic, and heritage wine varietals.
Created in conjunction with America’s 250th anniversary, the competition is designed to recognize the wineries, growers, and winemakers preserving and advancing a uniquely American wine tradition. Eligible wines include entries produced from native and heritage grapes such as Norton, Catawba, Concord, Niagara, Delaware, Chambourcin, Traminette, Chardonel, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Vignoles, Frontenac, La Crescent, Marquette, and many others- including hybrids and blends.
“American wine is often discussed through the lens of European varietals, but there is a rich and distinctly American story being told through native, hybrid, and historic grapes,” said Ian Lovejoy of Libation. “As the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, this competition gives wineries across the nation a platform to showcase wines that are deeply connected to American soil, history, innovation, and regional identity.”
The American Heritage Wine Competition will be open to wineries throughout the United States. Wines will be judged by category using a professional, quality-based scoring system, allowing medals to be awarded based on each wine’s individual merits. Award-winning wines will receive medals, access to corresponding bottle stickers, and inclusion in Libation’s post-competition publicity and marketing campaign. Winners may also be featured in digital announcements, media outreach, social media promotions, and consumer-facing winner materials.
The competition is intended to serve both established producers and small wineries working with American native and hybrid varietals that are sometimes underrepresented in traditional wine competitions.
“From historic grapes planted by early American settlers to modern cold-hardy hybrids helping expand wine production into new regions, these wines represent resilience, regional character, and innovation,” Lovejoy said. “The American Heritage Wine Competition is about giving those wines and the wineries behind them the recognition they deserve.”
Registration information, eligibility details, category codes, deadlines, and shipping instructions are available at www.HeritageWineCompetition.com
About Libation Awards
Libation Awards is an independent wine, beer, spirits competition brand producing professionally managed state, regional, and national competitions. With reach exceeding 200,000 targeted engagements across the beverage and lifestyle community, Libation Awards is focused on creating fair, innovative, and highly marketable competitions that help producers gain recognition, credibility, and consumer attention.
