Results of the 2021 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)
Other Red Single Varieties
Category Overview by Judge Jacky Blisson, MW
While a handful of signature grapes are emerging from coast to coast, Canada retains quite a diverse range of cultivars. In Ontario alone, 48 different grape varieties were used to produce VQA wines in 2021.
(Jump straight to the medal winners.)
Submissions to this year’s National Wine Awards included a full flight of Petit Verdot single variety red wines from BC and Ontario. The best examples boasted the dense, firm structure so typical of the grape, with sufficient ripeness to temper their high, grippy tannins.
Malbec also loomed large, mainly from BC. Quality was mixed here. There were lovely, high-toned wines with ample blue fruit, floral aromas, and polished tannins. However, as per the Petit Verdot wines, green-edged tannins and overly showy oak flavours plagued several entries.
Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Carménère, Blaufränkisch, and Pinotage wines garnered attention this year. Though a real standout variety was Sangiovese. Two BC entries earned gold medals, with their attractive dried herbal, bright fruited profiles and fresh, chiselled palate profiles.
Few hybrid grape varieties were submitted in 2021. The best included some well crafted Maréchal Foch from BC, and a particularly noteworthy Niagara Baco Noir displaying excellent balance and savoury complexity.
Black Hills 2019 Carmenere, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blasted Church 2017 Holy Moly Petit Verdot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blasted Church 2018 Small Blessings Malbec, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Moon Curser 2019 Touriga Nacional, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2019 Modest Wines By Jove Sangiovese, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2020 Blaufrankish, British Columbia
Road 13 2019 Jackpot Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Summerhill 2017 Organic Spadefoot Toad Sangiovese, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Alderlea 2018 Clarinet Maréchal Foch, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Culmina 2017 Malbec, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Fox & Archer 2019 Malbec, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Henry of Pelham 2019 Baco Noir Speck Family Reserve, Ontario
Mt. Boucherie 2018 Reserve Malbec, British Columbia
Painted Rock 2019 Malbec, Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
River Stone 2019 Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Rust Wine Co. 2018 Zinfandel, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Second Chapter 2017 Malbec Rattlesnake Vineyard, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stag’s Hollow 2018 Tempranillo, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stoneboat 2019 Pinotage, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Sunnybrae 2019 Bastion Mountain Red Maréchal Foch, Shuswap, British Columbia
Three Sisters 2019 Tempranillo, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Van Westen 2018 Violeta Malbec, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Adega on 45th 2018 Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Arrowleaf 2019 Zweigelt, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blasted Church 2018 Holy Moly Petit Verdot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Church & State 2018 Coyote Bowl Petit Verdot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Corcelettes 2019 Micro Lot Series Malbec, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Corcelettes 2019 Petit Verdot, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Crescent Hill 2020 Lost Buoy Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Dirty Laundry 2019 Cellar Series Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Enrico 2018 Braveheart, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Enrico 2018 Cabernet Foch Long Sword, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Frind 2020 Midnight, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Garry Oaks 2017 Estate Zweigelt, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Heaven’s Gate 2018 Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Heaven’s Gate 2019 Maréchal Foch, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hillside 2018 Heritage Malbec, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Karlo Estates 2019 Marquette, Ontario
Kismet 2017 Reserve Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lakeview 2017 Malbec Southshore Vineyards, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Magnotta 2019 Venture Series Baco Noir, Ontario
Moon Curser 2017 Tannat, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Moon Curser 2019 Carmenere, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Moon Curser 2019 Tempranillo, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Moon Curser 2020 Dolcetto, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2018 Modest Wines Little Green Red Petit Verdot, British Columbia
Organized Crime 2017 Petit Verdot, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Orofino 2020 Few and Far Between Zinfandel, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Play 2019 Spotlight Malbec, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2019 Old Vines Foch Reserve, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Red Rooster 2019 Malbec, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Richibucto River 2020 Marquette, New Brunswick
Sandhill 2018 Small Lots Single Vineyard Malbec Osprey Ridge, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Sandhill 2018 Small Lots Single Vineyard Petit Verdot Osprey Ridge, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Sandhill 2018 Small Lots Single Vineyard Sangiovese Sandhill Estate, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Seaside Pearl 2019 Royal Engineers Petit Verdot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Thornhaven 2019 Pinot Meunier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wayne Gretzky 2020 Signature Series Baco Noir, Ontario
