Results of the 2018 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)
Chardonnay
Category Overview by Judge and Panel Leader Treve Ring
People oft ask me “What’s Canada’s top grape?”, to which I reply without hesitation, chardonnay. You might think with a country the size of ours, the distance spanning from BC’s Pacific rimming Wine Islands to Nova Scotia’s bracing Atlantic, there’s no one grape that could possibly be suitable, yet alone excel. But you’d be wrong. Chardonnay, the most famous and transplanted white grape in the world, is particularly well suited to our latitude, climates, soils, and thankfully in recent years, our maturing winemaking.
Earlier this year I was reminded just how brilliant Canadian Chardonnay can be. John Szabo and I presented a Canadian wine masterclass at ProWein titled Rooted in Cool: Discover Canada’s Sparkling and White Wines, where we poured a lineup of chardonnay for 50+ international trade. The diversity was thrilling, from the riveting Blomidon Estate Winery Extra Brut Late Pick Sparkling Chardonnay 2011 in Nova Scotia, to the textural Hidden Bench Estate Winery Felseck Vineyard Chardonnay 2014 from Beamsville Bench, Ontario, to our orchard-echoing Haywire Secrest Mountain Chardonnay 2016 here in BC. Quite literally coast to coast, we are capable of producing stellar chardonnays, of numerous styles.
It’s no surprise that the annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4c) in Niagara is one of the major wine events in Canada, drawing international attention and sell-out crowds. We’ve much to be proud of, emerging as one of the serious locations for the queen C in the world.
This year we awarded six platinum medals to chardonnays (Note: Platinums will be revealed on July 27th), split equally between BC and Ontario. There was an outstanding 19 gold medals to follow. The diversity in the judging room was appreciated, with the best chards showing a clear sense of place, direction and confidence. Congratulations to all awarded wines; the quality level was high, and getting higher year over year.
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CedarCreek 2016 Platinum Block 5 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hidden Bench 2015 Chardonnay Felseck Vineyard, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Meyer 2016 Micro Cuvee Chardonnay Old Main Rd, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Nk’Mip Cellars 2016 Qwam Qwmt Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2013 Chardonnay Quarry Road Vineyard, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Bartier Bros. 2015 Chardonnay Cerqueira Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Culmina 2016 N° 004 Stan’s Bench Chardonnay, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Exultet 2016 Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Gray Monk 2017 Chardonnay Unwooded, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hidden Bench 2015 Chardonnay Tete de Cuvee, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
JoieFarm 2016 En Famille Reserve Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lightfoot & Wolfville 2015 Ancienne Chardonnay, Nova Scotia
Meldville 2016 Chardonnay Barrel Select, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Meyer 2016 Chardonnay McLean Creek Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2016 Rosemary’s Block Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Ravine 2015 Reserve Chardonnay, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Redstone 2013 Limestone Vineyard Chardonnay, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Rosehall Run 2016 JCR Chardonnay Rosehall Vineyard, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Tawse 2015 Chardonnay Estate Vineyards, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2015 Chardonnay South Bay Vineyard, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Trail Estate 2015 Chardonnay Unfiltered, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Trail Estate 2016 Chardonnay Unfiltered Foxcroft Vineyard, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Trius 2016 Showcase Chardonnay Wild Ferment Watching Tree Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Vignoble Camy 2016 Chardonnay Reserve, Quebec
50th Parallel 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Adamo 2015 Chardonnay Willms Vineyard, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Black Hills 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Calamus 2017 Barrel Kissed Chardonnay, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Casa Dea 2016 Chardonnay Reserve, Prince Edward County, Ontario
CedarCreek 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Château des Charmes 2015 Chardonnay St. David’s Bench Vineyard, Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Culmina 2016 Dilemma, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Dirty Laundry 2017 Naughty Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Flat Rock Cellars 2016 Unplugged Chardonnay, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Henry of Pelham 2016 Chardonnay Estate, Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Huff Estates 2016 South Bay Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Inniskillin Niagara 2016 Chardonnay Montague Vineyard , Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Inniskillin Okanagan 2016 Chardonnay Dark Horse Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Jackson-Triggs Niagara 2016 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Legends Estates 2016 Chardonnay Reserve, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Meyer 2017 Stevens Block Chardonnay Old Main Road, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2016 Reserve Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Painted Rock 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Privato 2016 Chardonnay Woodward Collection, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2013 Chardonnay Robyn’s Block, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2014 Chardonnay Sketches, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2015 Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Thirty Bench 2015 Small Lot Chardonnay Estate Vineyard, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Three Sisters 2016 chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Two Sisters 2016 Unoaked Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Blind Creek Collective 2016 Chardonnay, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Burrowing Owl 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Coolshanagh 2014 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Fort Berens 2016 Chardonnay Reserve White Gold, British Columbia
Hidden Bench 2016 Chardonnay, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Karlo Estates 2016 Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
KIN Vineyards 2016 Chardonnay, Ontario
Leaning Post 2016 Chardonnay Senchuk Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Liber Farm 2017 Everyday Chardonnay , Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Magnotta 2016 Venture Series Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Mirabel 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2016 Perpetua Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Monte Creek Ranch 2016 Chardonnay Reserve, British Columbia
Monte Creek Ranch 2016 Chardonnay, British Columbia
Nighthawk Vineyards 2016 Chardonnay , Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2016 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Redstone 2011 The Club Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Robin Ridge 2016 Chardonnay, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Southbrook 2016 Wild Ferment Chardonnay, Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2015 Chardonnay Robyn’s Block, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
The Chase 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Therapy 2017 Therapy Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tinhorn Creek 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Ursa Major 2016 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wayne Gretzky Okanagan 2016 Signature Series Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
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