WineAlign - Awards - 2023 NWAC Sauvignon Blanc

Results of the 2023 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

The nine lives of Sauvignon Blanc

Category Overview by Judge Michael Godel

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

Does it not feel like sauvignon blanc is the grape that will just not go away? Some people simply despise it, will not drink it, slam it every chance they get. Why? Sure it can be a bit lean, sometimes also green, but why the hate? What did it ever do to offend anyone? More often than not sauvignon blanc is lovely, emminently drinkable and satisfying. This year’s National Wine Awards of Canada results tell such a story.

Lean sauvignon is a thing – and it does occur in examples from the Loire Valley, New Zealand, Chile and South Africa. That it also happens in Canada is not always a factor of wrong place or bad winemaking. So long as redeeming qualities are involved then these can be wines of great interest, but also value. Redeeming attributes include saltiness, piquancy, stoniness, herbaceous subtlety and other complexities to speak of a sense of place. A great number of sauvignon blanc I tasted at this year’s NWACs exhibited positive properties.

Of the 42 medals, 25 are for Ontario and 17 for British Columbia. Seven are Golds and the rest a near split between Silver and Bronze. While 60 percent medallist honours for entries in a category is not a top performance, it is right there at the (63 percent) mean and so more than respectable. This tells us producers remain keen on the grape and continue to raise its quality. Canadian sauvignon blanc will never challenge Sancerre or Bordeaux for global supremacy but provided extreme climate events do not kill off the vines, the future will include more of these wines. Other than merlot it is hard to think of a grape variety that faces the cumulative effects of climate issues, grape-growing obstacles, fermentative adversity and, most of all, unwarranted hate. These are just a few of the reasons sauvignon blanc is like the cat of Canadian grapes, still around and thriving with thanks to its nine lives.

Bench 1775 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Deep Roots 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Inniskillin Discovery Series 2021 Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Palatine Hills 2021 Wild & Free Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Peller Estates Niagara 2022 Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
River Stone Estate Winery 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Trius 2021 Distinction Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

180 Estate Winery 2021 Sauvignon, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Backyard Vineyards 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek 2022 Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek 2022 Platinum Border Vista Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Chronos 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Flat Rock Cellars 2021 Explore Sauvignon Blanc, Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Howling Bluff 2022 Sauvig n on Blanc, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lakeview 2021 Fumé Blanc, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Magnotta 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Venture Series, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Maverick 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mayhem 2022 Anarchy Sauvignon Blanc, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
North 42 Degrees 2022 Sauvignon Blanc , Lake Erie North Shore, Ontario
Rosehall Run 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Saintly 2022 The Good Sauvignon Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2020 Grower’s Blend Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Trius 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Vieni Estates 2021 Sauvignon Blanc, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

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