B.C. WINEMAKERS PICK THEIR FAVOURITES

Instead of my opinion and perhaps those of a colleague or three, you get the collective verdict, category by category, on B.C. varietals, from a blind tasting by 21 Okanagan winemakers. It's not often one sees competition results that reflect the preferences of a region's winemakers, and since writers get to say what we like every week, it seems fair to hear from the people who actually make the wine, to understand just what it is they like to drink. The second Best of B.C. Varietal Competition was part of last weekend's Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. The judges tasted blind at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Research Station in Summerland. Before you go running off to buy any of the wines mentioned here, clip this column and keep it for the summer. You should be able to find many of the medal winners now, but some are only about to be released and some are already sold out. As usual, finding them isn't always easy, so I suggest you begin in the VQA section of your local liquor store -- that advice applies to any item that has a price and a product code. The others are distributed among VQA wine shops and restaurants, or are sold direct from the winery. If there is any good news regarding availability, it's that more and more B.C. producers are turning to government stores to sell their wine. It's amazing how a little competition, not to mention a glut of overpriced products, can force even the most high-handed wineries to start thinking about consumers first. SPARKLING Pinot Reach Cellars took the gold medal for its 1999 Old Vines Riesling Brut ($19.95; winery only) made from the oldest (planted in 1978) vinifera vines in the province. Summerhill Winery NV Cipes Brut ($24.95) won silver, and the always solid and much drier Sumac Ridge Estate Winery 1998 Steller's Jay Brut ($21.95; #264879) grabbed the bronze. PINOT BLANC Good things are happening at CedarCreek, which is why the 2000 Greata Ranch Estate Select Pinot Blanc ($19.05) grabbed the gold. Calona winemaker Howard Soon won silver for his easy-sipping 2001 Artist Series Pinot Blanc ($10.95; #261024), while long-time category champion Sumac Ridge took home the bronze for its 2000 Private Reserve ($13.95; #393728). PINOT GRIS This category turned up some unfamiliar winners. The gold went to the Red Rooster Winery 2001 ($13.95; #533174), silver to the much improved Hawthorne Mountain 2000 ($16.95) and bronze to Andrés, for its Peller Estates 2001 Founder's Limited Edition Pinot Gris ($12.95, #528430) -- not to be confused with the Founder's Pinot Gris that sells for $10.95. SEMILLON/SAUVIGNON BLANC This jumbled category features blends of sémillon and sauvignon, and single-varietal sauvignon blanc. The Sumac Ridge Estate Winery 2000 Meritage White ($19.95; #434977) took the gold, which is no surprise me -- it is clearly one of the finest, most elegant whites made in B.C. Sumac confirmed its ability to work with white grapes by taking silver for its stand alone 2000 Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ($15.95, #593087). Bronze went to the hard charging Jackson-Triggs 2001 Proprietors' Reserve ($12.95; #593111). CHARDONNAY Surprise surprise: The simple, well-made, fruity Gehringer Brothers 2000 Dry Rock Chardonnay ($10.95; #536169) won gold. The silver and bronze, both for 2000 editions, went to the Quails' Gate Family Reserve ($29.95; #559625) and Hawthorne Mountain Reserve ($9.95) respectively. EHRENFELSER This vote seemed to fall on the right players, with gold going to the 2001 CedarCreek ($12.95; #306332), silver to 2001 Gehringer Brothers ($10.25; #171512) and bronze to the 2000 Summerhill Estate ($14). Flowery and fresh, they are super patio wines. GEWURZTRAMINER It would have been tough to imagine anyone unseating the spicy, lychee-flavoured Sumac Ridge 2000 Private Reserve Gewurztraminer ($13.95; #142893) as the best in the province. Both Mt. Boucherie 2000 Gewurztraminer ($13.90; #602086), which won silver, and bronze-winner Red Rooster 2001 Gewurztraminer ($12.95; #498832) have been coming close. PINOT NOIR Ashley Hooper is beginning to put his imprint on the wines at Quails' Gate and no doubt surprised the competition by winning the pinot category for his 2000 Family Reserve ($29.95). Silver went to Burrowing Owl Estate ($19.90) and bronze to the CedarCreek 1999 Platinum Reserve ($35.05). MERLOT The merlot medals spanned three vintages. The gold went to Jackson-Triggs for its 1998 Proprietors' Grand Reserve ($19.95; #543918), not to be confused with its Proprietors' Reserve -- or is it? Andrés Peller Estates 2000 Founder's Limited Edition Merlot ($16.95; release date not set) took silver, and the bronze was scooped up by another Vincor property, Hawthorne Mountain ($15.95; release date not set). CABERNET VARIETALS Producers could enter a cabernet franc or a cabernet sauvignon. The gold went to the soft, round and oaky Jackson-Triggs 1998 Proprietors' Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($18.95; VQA wine shops), silver to a meaty CedarCreek 1999 Platinum Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($28.05) and bronze to a slightly weedy Sumac Ridge 1998 Cabernet Franc ($14.95; #392381). RED MERITAGE BLENDS Given its giant price tag, the Sumac Ridge 1998 Pinnacle ($50; #593061) would be expected to grab gold, but close behind came a very young and comparatively inexpensive Jackson-Triggs 2000 Proprietors' Reserve Red Meritage (estimated $22.95). Bronze went to Mission Hill winemaker John Simes's well crafted 1999 Oculus ($33). OPEN TABLE RED The competition hasn't created a syrah/shiraz category yet, but if these wines keep winning the mixed or open-red category, it won't be long. Mission Hill struck gold for its 1999 Reserve Shiraz ($17.95). So much for the taste of the French winemakers who panned it two weeks ago in this column. Jackson-Triggs took the silver for its 2000 Proprietors' Reserve Shiraz ($14.95), and the bronze went to my favourite, the Mission Hill 1999 Estate Syrah ($29.90). DESSERT Icewine from 2000 made by two Vincor properties took all medals in this category. The win-everything-it-enters Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Reserve Riesling ($52.95; #597104) grabbed gold. Silver was awarded to the Inniskillin Okanagan Riesling ($59.95; #558445), while bronze went to Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve Sparkling Riesling Icewine $69.95; #612275). Other wines awarded gold medals include the Jackson-Triggs 2001 Proprietors' Reserve Riesling ($10.95; #543835; being released June 1). The top rosé was Jackson-Triggs Vintners 2001 Proprietors' Reserve Blanc de Noir ($12.95; #543850), while gold for the "best other white" went to Wild Goose Vineyards 2001 Autumn Gold.