Eight Platinum Awards for BC Wines at Nationals

The most important wine competition in Canada is held once a year somewhere in Canadian wine country and it takes a full week of work to find out who is making the best wine. The newly minted WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, a.k.a. The Nationals, are the latest iteration of the Canadian Wine Awards that has been searching for the best wines in the country since 2001.

I have been running the competition since its inception with Toronto-based wine writer David Lawrason and after a long week in Niagara-on-the-Lake late this summer, we and 15 other judges with a wealth of tasting experience, found some terrific wines. Canadian wine is off the charts, and while from this writer's purview there is a still a lot of fluff written about Canadian wine and wineries some wineries are hitting it out of the park. That's why we spend an entire week in the summer tasting almost 1,200 wines blind, watching the best bottles advance from one round to another until they win gold or platinum.

The Nationals have always been stingy when it comes to handing out gold medals, preferring to reserve that accolade for the very best wines entered. It's one of the reasons why the results of The Nationals (née Canadian Wine Awards) have been so well received. I want to share some impressive results of our local wineries, in essence giving you the opportunity to buy some of these wines before they completely disappear.

New this year and based on the almost 1,200 wines entered we decided to award platinum status to one per cent of the wines entered, or 12 wines. These are simply the best of the best. In past years we have singled out the best red, white, dessert and sparkling wine but we felt it was more appropriate to honour the best wines regardless of style or colour.

Of the 12 platinum medals awarded an impressive eight went to B.C.-produced wine. Top rated and second in the country is the Road 13 Vineyards 2011 Syrah Malbec ($32). Winemaker J.M. Bouchard is a terroir/blend freak and while malbec and Syrah are hardly household B.C. grapes the combination is, well, platinum worthy. Bouchard grabbed a second platinum for the delicious Road 13 Vineyards 2009 Home Vineyard Sparkling Chenin ($35).

Our top scoring white came from Okanagan Falls-based Meyer Family Vineyards. The Meyer Family 2011 McLean Creek Chardonnay ($35) is part of the 'New Okanagan' style and the judges rewarded it accordingly.

Next up was the Painted Rock Estate 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($40). John Skinner's Skaha Bench winery has consistently proven that when you plant in the right spot and crop accordingly you can produce a fully ripe cabernet Sauvignon.

Mission Hill Family Estate won the coveted Canadian Winery of the Year title based on the strength of its top five scoring wines that included three gold medals and two platinum medals. The best value platinum based on score and price went to the Mission Hill Family Estate 2011 Reserve Riesling ($17); their second platinum went to the silky and sensuous Mission Hill Family Estate 2009 Compendium ($36).

Rounding out the platinum list was another classy Chardonnay, the Quails' Gate Winery 2011 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay ($35) and the Burrowing Owl 2010 Meritage Red ($45). Both wineries have since acquired new winemakers suggesting there will be some big shoes to fill.

All in all, an impressive showing by British Columbia's wineries in what is the toughest wine competition they will enter all year.

For complete 2013 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals) results log onto winealign.com/awards/2013/09/03/nwac-13-results.

MezzaCorona Pinot Grigio 2012, Trentino- Alto-Adige, Italy

Price: $16 | Score: 87/100

UPC: 008004305000088

Fresh aromatic floral nose with flecks of citrus, slate and baked pear. Very clean and attractive on entry with more earthy, pear, mineral, honey, lees flavours. Love the northern style light and fresh and food friendly. Try this with buttered clams or simply prepared and grilled fish dishes. Ready to drink.

La Chablisienne Chablis La Pierrelee 2010, Chablis, Burgundy, France

Price: $28 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 3332418000899

This village Chablis has a green apple, lemon and seashell scented white with light lees, nettle, orange and herb aromas and a creamy, elegant palate. More lemon, lees, green apple and lime flavours mark its palate. You can drink this now and we recommend oysters or clams. Solid value.

Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Western Cape, South Africa

Price: $15 | Score: 86/100

UPC: 00746925000939

Nettle, artichoke, grassy, gooseberry, grapefruit rind aromas. Round, fresh, moderately dry palate with grapefruit, canned jalapeno, and artichoke, nettle and green apple flavours. Well balanced but on the herbaceous side. Try this with steamed mussels.

Zuccardi Serie A Cabernet Malbec 2011, Valle de Uco, Tunuyán, Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $18 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 007791728004939

The best thing you can ask for in any red under $20 is honesty and you get it in spades here. The attack is warm and juicy with big jammy malbec and earthy savoury cabernet combining to heat up on the finish. A perfect red for grilled meats including hamburgers.

Zonin Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore 2011, Pedemonte, Veneto, Italy

Price: $19 | Score: 87/100

UPC: 008002235023771

A fine fall red from its black cherry jam, tobacco, spicy, dried herb nose to its elegant palate with coffee, tobacco, spicy, herbal, cherry and plum flavours. Solid fruit and intensity that would aptly accompany a meaty pasta dish. The blend is 70/20/10 mix of corvine, corvinone, rondinella and molinara.

Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Medalla Real 2009, Valle del Maipo, Region del Valle Central, Chile

Price: $20 | Score: 87/100

UPC: 007804330111107

Typically sappy, cassis nose flecked with chocolate, tobacco, vanilla, bay leaf aromas. The attack is dry, fresh and slightly tannic with more cassis, bay, sage, pepper and chocolate, olive, orange peel flavours. A solid cab with plenty savoury Maipo bay leaf character throughout. Try this with grilled meats.