New trends reveal icewine diminishing as Syrah is a beacon of quality

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The 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada begin their annual medal rollout next week. Before that starts, let’s look at some trends observed at the Nationals over the last quarter century.

The latest awards were held in Niagara wine country last week. Full disclosure: I’m a co-chair of the eight-day event along with Toronto-based wine critic David Lawrason. The competition is open to any producers making 100 per cent Canadian-grown and produced wines, and in 2024, it attracted just under 1,700 wines from 230 wineries.

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This year’s 24 judges, with nearly 500 years of combined tasting experience, come from diverse wine backgrounds across Canada, England, and the U.S. This diverse expertise ensures a comprehensive evaluation process. All wines are tasted blind, and the top-scoring 25-27 per cent are re-tasted blind.

The medals are awarded based on the panel’s final score, which is precise to two decimal points. Only the top one per cent of scoring wines, those that truly stand out, are awarded a prestigious platinum medal, followed by the gold, silver, and bronze categories. This stringent process, focusing on precision and excellence, ensures that only the highest-quality wines receive recognition in each medal class.

The year 2024 marked another change in entries, which tend to follow trends in retail and consumer demand, which ultimately provides an excellent guide to the future of any particular style of wine or the popularity of individual grapes. In the early years of the Canadian Wine Awards, the icewine category often would gather all the top scores. However, over the years, the category has diminished, and while we still see some excellent bottles, the scores and entries are no longer at the top of the heap.

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Two of the largest categories in the last decades, Pinot Gris and Merlot, are in slight decline, at least in numbers submitted. Both grapes have been highly popular, which leads to more planting, but often, like many success stories, the latecomers are all about commercial versions. While some excellent bottles are still made, commercial wines tend to get panned by the judges, leaving producers to shy away from entering them. Cabernet Sauvignon has been up and down but is coming back thanks to global warming and weather, which is more advantageous for this late-ripening varietal weather.

Despite its smaller numbers, the Syrah category has been a beacon of quality. The resilience of this category, despite the challenges of winter damage, is truly inspiring. The quality remains high, but with fewer Syrah vines around, entries have dropped as wineries try to manage their inventories over the next three years while making decisions about the future of this less hardy winter grape.

The champion performers in numbers and quality are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Both of these well-known grapes have shown well in 2024. At the top, not only do they taste impressive, but many reflect their origins in a way few have for decades as producer finally begin to interpret their sites and allow that key ingredient to be reflected in their wines. The first of the results will be out on July 12 at winealign.com/awards.

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In the meantime, we have tasted a lot of Rosés lately, and with summer underway, I wanted to share a short list of winners that you can buy in B.c. liquor stores, directly from local wineries, or, in some cases, from private wine shops.

From 2023 look for the Wild Goose Winery Rosé $21, Tantalus Rosé Pinot Noir-Pinot Meunier $24, Bartier Bros. Gamay Noir Rosé $25, LaStella LaStellina Rosato $25, Mt. Boucherie Rosé $25, Le Vieux Pin Vaïla Rosé $25, Culmina Saignée  $26, Haywire Gamay Noir Rosé 2022 $28, Tinhorn Creek Reserve Rosé $29, Nk’Mip Cellars Winemakers Rosé $30, Moon Curser Heist Rosé  $31, Seven Directions Tractor and Vines Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé $32, 1 Mill Road Winery Pinot Noir Rosé $38 and from 2022: the Fox & Archer Unfiltered Saignée $24.

Weekend wine picks

Bartier Bros. Brut N/V, Oliver, Okanagan Valley

$34.99 I 90/100

UPC: N/A

It has been a year since we last tasted this multi-vintage sparkler. It was showing well then, and with 12 more months of bottle time, it has added to its charm, pitching more complexity and length. The Bartier traditional method sparkling program has gone multi-vintage to use a small supply of reserve wines to bolster the house style. Green apples with juicy citrus electrify a peach and pear underside with creamy, toasty notes. I love the taut, linear lines and lemon peel finish. Oysters, anyone? Friendly, fresh and a lovely work in progress.

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Moselland Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Kabinett 2021, Mosel, Germany

$18.49 I 87/100

UPC: 084756123169

This Mosel Riesling is clean and bright. It comes from one of the top co-ops in the region, based in Bernkastel. The style is just off-dry, but it’s hardly noticeable, given the citrus, apricot, and green apple. The finish is clean and crisp. Enjoy it solo on a warm patio, or pair it with a favourite sushi roll. It’s value is hard to beat.

Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2021, Okanagan Valley

$49 I 92/100

UPC: 778856219012

The Stewart Family Reserve wines are produced from some of the oldest vines on the property, now hitting the quarter-century mark. The Family Reserve Chardonnay is mostly Clone 95, and while its style has leaned toward California in the past, 2021 is beginning to transition to a leaner, more complex affair  — something more Okanagan. The pears, peaches and hazelnuts combine with a creamy palate, but now the lees and acidity kick in at the back end, giving it more life and vitality. It’s dry and intense as Chardonnay can be without losing its finesse. It’s an impressive edition of the Reserve, one Chardonnay fans should not miss. The winery suggests it pairs well with a pan-fried halibut cooked in a butter cream sauce or a burrata salad with roasted peaches, pistachios and cider vinaigrette. Bravo.

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Pointer Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Chile

$13.99 I 86/100

UPC: 7804315008743

If you are hunting for an inexpensive red wine that you can serve liberally around the barbecue, you can give this Pointer Cabernet a go. It has all the hallmarks of an inexpensive Chilean red with its savoury, dried herb nose, cassis, and mint, with a slight tug of tannins in the back end. It was lightly reductive on entry, but that mostly blows off with some time, 15-20 minutes in a decanter or your wine glass. It is best with burgers, empanadas, beef tacos, or a cheese plate. Ready to drink and hard to beat for $14.

Haywire Gamay 2022, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley

$31.99 I 91/100

UPC: 626990161851

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Old Gamay vines (45 years) in Kelowna are at the heart of this native fermented Gamay, using 50 per cent whole clusters in a mix of small open-top tanks and concrete for 30-plus days. The nose is electric, with bright red fruit jumping from the glass. On the palate, the fruits run, blending notes of cranberries, boysenberries, and dark plum, all with a delicate peppery note. The tannins are soft, and the acidity is bright with a mineral undertow. This is a benchmark B.C. Gamay and a delight to drink. Perfect for grilled chicken or a margherita pizza.

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Congratulations to Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery, the first Canadian winery to achieve certification through TOTA’s Biosphere Sustainable Commitment Program. The certification was obtained after completing over 133 activities related to the 17 sustainable development goals and 169 goals of the United Nations. For director of winemaking and viticulture Benoit Gauthier, implementing sustainable practices is a priority to nurture short-, medium-, and long-term benefits for the vines, winery, and region. Noble Ridge began switching from conventional farming to sustainable farming practices in 2014, initially focused on improving the soil quality. In 2020, Noble Ridge started the sustainable Winegrowing B.C. program and, in 2021, became one of the first vineyards in B.C. to achieve the sustainable winegrowing B.C. certification. From there, the next step was to adopt sustainable practices

for the entire business, and the best path was to achieve certification through Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association Biosphere Commitment Program helps equip tourism businesses in the region with tools and resources to continuously measure, manage, and report sustainability management efforts.

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•••

B.C. wine of the week

Unsworth Vineyards Rosé 2022, B.C.

$27.90 I 91/100

UPC: 626990320333

If you love dry Rosé and food, this Vancouver Island pink is the solution to all your needs. The nose is a vibrant blend of cherries and rhubarb. The attack is sleek and lean with more red fruit, bright acidity, and a tight linear style through the finish. It gets just enough lees contact — three months — to add a layer of complexity and leave a dusting of texture. Delicious and mostly unequalled, this kind of wine will turn heads everywhere in the wine world. Back up the truck.

Value wine of the week

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Sartarelli Tralivio Verdicchio 2021, Ancona, Marche, Italy

$28.99 I 90/100

UPC: 8032919700025

Sartarelli’s Tralivio is an elegant expression of a classico superiore Verdicchio pitching freshness, young green herbs mixed with bits of apricots and almonds sprayed with citrus and pear juice. The finish is a stony mineral affair whose bright acidity cleanses the palate before your next bite. It is richer than your average Italian white, allowing you a wide choice of seafood dishes to pair it with. It only means you can serve slightly bigger seafood dishes with it. A lovely addition to restaurant wine lists selling at a giveaway price.

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