Results of the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)
Gamay
Category Overview by judge Janet Dorozynski DipWSET
I love tasting and then seeing the gamay winners unveiled every year. It is a variety that is near and dear to my heart (yes, I coined the hashtag #gogamaygo as a rallying cry for gamay in Canada and globally in 2012) and it is always heartwarming to see new wineries hopping on the gamay train. Newbies, along with stalwart gamay producers, continue to up their gamay game and prowess and make better wines with each vintage.
(Jump straight to the medal winners.)
One of this year’s multi gold medal winners is Malivoire, who first planted gamay in 1998 to make rose, and then realized there is something special and multi-faceted about the grape. Under winemaker Shiraz Mottiar, the winery continues to reach new heights with each of the seven different gamay they make. This year Malivoire took home an impressive four gold medals for gamay. Their “Le Coeur” gamay, this time for the 2021 vintage, took gold once again as did the 2020 vintage at last year’s Nationals. Quite an accomplishment and kudos to them.
High gold also went to gamay newcomer, Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards for their 2020 Lava Bomb Gamay from the Okanagan Valley, a winery that I did not even know had ventured into gamay. As for the rest of the medals, Ontario has the edge over British Columbia here but perhaps not surprising since BC gamay acreage is less than 200 acres while estimates put Ontario (which does not have published acreage data) at around three times that amount.
#gogamaygo
13th Street 2020 Gamay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
180 Estate Winery 2019 Gamay Noir Reserve Mia Cara Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Chaberton 2021 Estate Grown Gamay Noir, British Columbia
Fitzpatrick 2020 Lava Bomb Gamay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Malivoire 2020 Courtney Gamay, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Farmstead Gamay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Gamay Concrete, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Le Coeur Gamay, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Peller Estates Niagara 2020 Private Reserve Gamay Noir, Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Rust Wine Co. 2021 Gamay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
13th Street 2020 Gamay Sandstone Whitty Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
13th Street 2020 Gamay Whitty Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
2027 Cellars 2020 Wismer Armburst Vineyard Gamay-Noir, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Inniskillin Niagara 2020 Discovery Series Gamay Noir, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Small Lot Gamay, Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Megalomaniac 2019 Unconventional Gamay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Redstone 2019 Bistro Gamay Noir, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Stratus 2020 Gamay, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2019 Gamay Noir Cherry Avenue Vineyard, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2019 Gamay Noir, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Three Sisters 2020 Gamay, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Trius 2020 Distinction Gamay Noir, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
180 Estate Winery 2020 Gamay Noir Mia Cara Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Byland 2020 Gamay Noir Reserve, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Byland 2020 Private Reserve Gamay Noir Owner Signature, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Hidden Bench 2020 Unfiltered Gamay, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Genova Gamay, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Vieni 2021 Novello Nouveau Gamay Noir, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
