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Rules for Entry
The WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC) is open to all wines and ciders that are 100% grown, vinified and bottled in Canada. Wines do not require VQA certification. There is NO limit to the number of wines that any single winery may submit to the competition, but you may only enter any single, unique wine once within the same year’s competition. The exact wine can be entered in subsequent competitions if it meets the criteria for that year’s entries.
Who Can Enter
All wineries, agents or authorized representatives whose wine qualifies for entry based on the listed guidelines can make entries.
Qualifications for Entry
All entries must:
- Be 100% grown, vinified, and bottled in Canada. Wines do not need VQA certification, but in the case of any challenge to its origin not being Canadian, the winery must produce evidence of the bottle’s provenance.
- Have a minimum production of 900 bottles (750ml), or equivalent volume, for commercial availability.
- Be available for public retail sale in Canada during the 2023 calendar year or scheduled for release by July 1, 2024.
- Be considered a current vintage (see acceptable dates below).
NOTE: Inaugural Releases
Any wine that is making its inaugural release due to long-term, pre-release ageing is eligible no matter its vintage, IF the inaugural release was on or after July 1, 2022, and IF it has not been entered into the National Wine Awards of Canada in any previous year. Note, any offer be it winery direct, on-line to consumers or wine club members, retail, restaurants, consignment, direct-delivery, etc., will be interpreted as the wine’s official inaugural release into the marketplace. The re-release of any vintage is not considered an inaugural release.
Once a wine makes its inaugural release, it is only eligible for entry in succeeding years IF it meets the current vintage requirements as specified for each category below.
Example: If you entered your 2018 or 2017 vintage, or an even older year, at the 2022 competition, it is no longer eligible to be re-entered because, in 2023, the oldest vintage you can re-enter for a red wine is 2019. In essence, you only get one chance to enter your wine if it falls outside of the on-going yearly vintage requirements.
2023 Category Requirements
Sparkling: All vintage-dated and non-vintage sparkling wines are admissible (provided they meet the guidelines listed above).
White: White Wine: All entries must bear a vintage date of 2022, 2021, or 2020 and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Red: Must bear a vintage date of 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Rosé: Must bear a vintage date of 2022 or 2021 and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Orange: Must bear a vintage date of 2022, 2021 or 2020 and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Late Harvest/Icewine: Must bear a vintage date of 2022, 2021, or 2020 and meet Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Fruit Wines: Must be grown and bottled in 2022 or 2021 or later, whether or not they bear a vintage date and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Ciders: must be bottled or canned in 2023, 2022 or 2021 and meet the Qualifications for Entry listed above.
Please note: Organizers may request to see bottling records if they feel the content is more mature than its display date. Entries failing to display any vintage date may be disqualified.
Only entries bearing commercial labels will be accepted; unlabelled ‘finished’ tank or barrel samples will be disqualified.
The competition’s co-chairs reserve the right and the final say to transfer entries from one category to another category.
Cost of Entry
April 1 – 30: $135/wine + GST
May 1 – 31: $140/wine + GST
June 1 – : $145/wine + GST
Payment can be done with secure online payment by credit card through Stripe. Payment by cheque is also possible. To make arrangements to pay by cheque and have your registered wines marked paid, contact [email protected].
Number of Bottles Required
Registrants are required to ship three 750mL, six 375mL bottles of wine, six (330ml – 500ml) cans/bottles of cider, or 8 (250ml) cans/bottles (or equivalent volume) per entry to allow for multiple rounds of tasting. Wineries submitting cork finished bottles should consider submitting four samples to avoid any risk of TCA leaving them with not enough bottles to compete. All wines submitted are for the exclusive use of judging at the National Wine Awards of Canada and will not be returned.
Major Awards
The Winery of the Year award will be given out to the top scoring winery in the competition. A minimum of five wines must be entered in order to be eligible for this award. The five top-scoring entries (not including Icewine or Ice Cider) will be used to determine the Winery of the Year and the top wineries lists.
The Best Performing Small Winery award will be given out to the top scoring winery producing 10,000 cases of wine a year or less. A minimum of five wines must be entered in order to be eligible for this award. The five top-scoring entries (not including Icewine or Ice Cider) will be used to determine the Best Performing Small Winery. If you’d like to be eligible for this award, please ensure you have updated your winery’s annual production amount when you register your wines.
The Best Cider of the Year award will be given out to the top scoring cider (not including Ice Cider) in the awards.
The Best Icewine of the Year award will be given to the highest scoring Icewine in the competition.
Judging for the WineAlign 2023 National Wine Awards of Canada will take place in late June in Penticton, British Columbia.
Questions or comments? Contact us: [email protected]