The Nationals

I'm writing this from the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, on a brief break from judging the National Wine Awards of Canada. Anthony is here, though to be honest, I've seen very little of him since he's running the back room as head judge - a massive task. We're tasting a record 1525 wines this year, our largest number of entries to date. I'm one of 22 judges, representing our nation coast to coast - Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia, including two BC apprentices (part of our mentoring judging program). We also have our two international judges (WineAlign member Dr. Jamie Goode and guest judge Elaine Chukan Brown) joining us for the final rounds, starting this afternoon. The wines have been strong so far, especially with what I've seen from Chardonnay and Syrah. The full results, including Canadian Winery of the Year, will be published on WineAlign near the end of July. Follow along this week on Twitter and Instagram with #NWAC16.