WineAlign - Awards - 2022 NWAC Pinot Noir

Results of the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Pinot Noir – Love and thunder

Category Overview by judge Michael Godel

Just when thoughts had been creeping in over doubts that pinot noir is not the most viable red grape to nurture in Canadian vineyards, along came the covey of varietal wines at the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada. The dozens poured at the judging table over five days in June apprised our collective contemplation and never before had panels spent so much time deliberating which wines were the finest in flights where eight or nine out of 10 could all have easily medalled. This is a sign of good times ahead for the fickle, finicky, oft times curmudgeonly and always challenging grape. Winemakers, consumers and yes, even wine judges want to believe in the sanctity, viability and promise of pinot noir. Though we may have all questioned these convictions before, for now all is hopeful, positive and propitious.

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

The judging week saw many flights, all intriguing and the cross section of wines was experienced through sensations of love and thunder. There were the lithe, transparent, high-toned, red berry, lime-scintillant examples and there were darker, brooding, seriously ripe and often tannic iterations too. Beauties and beasts, belles et bêtes, charming and bold…love and thunder. Good pinot noir can succeed both ways, so long as an equanimous state is acceded. The question on every judge’s mind was a consistent one, perhaps even more so as it pertains to this category than any other in the competition. Does this pinot noir express itself with harmony and balance?

At this year’s Nationals the medal winners were in fact those that achieved this necessary state of varietal bliss. There were 97 pieces of hardware dished out and if that is not a record haul I for one would be shocked. It was the second largest give away for any category in 2022 (after chardonnay) so congratulations to the makers for crafting and sending their best. Four Platinums were awarded, to Meyer Old Block Pinot Noir McLean Creek Road Vineyard 2020, BC VQA Okanagan Falls; SpearHead Coyote Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019, BC VQA Okanagan Valley; Fort Berens Pinot Noir 2020, BC VQA and Hidden Bench Pinot Noir Felseck Vineyard 2019, VQA Beamsville Bench. There were 16 Golds (13 BC and 3 ON), 37 Silver (27 BC and 10 ON) and 40 Bronze (24 BC, 14 ON and 2 QC). Overall British Columbia took home 67 per cent of the medals and Ontario 29. Those two Québec Bronze are a sign of things to come.

So, what is the number one takeaway from the 2022 Nationals with regards to Canadian pinot noir? The answer lies in the way winemakers approach their product. Lowest of low cropping to achieve density and concentration is no longer the launching point towards making great pinot noir. Aggressive pressing, intense macerations and long wood aging, especially in newer (and smaller) vessels all lead to astringency and imbalance. All these things are fading into the rear-view mirror, slowly but surely being replaced by, first and foremost, sustainable and regenerative agriculture resulting in healthier vines. In the winery there is less handling, more finesse and attention paid to detail leading to more purity and also clarity in the wines. This is what pinot noir needs. If the most suitable and only the most suitable sites are used, the future will move from optimistic to auspicious. The number one takeaway? Canadian pinot noir has long been searching for and is now beginning to find inner peace. Let’s just hope it keeps on this path, despite, and in spite of, climate change.

And the winners are…

Fort Berens 2020 Pinot Noir, British Columbia
Hidden Bench 2019 Pinot Noir Felseck Vineyard, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Meyer 2020 Old Block Pinot Noir McLean Creek Road vineyard, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
SpearHead 2019 Coyote Vineyard Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia