BC Sweeps All Canadian Wine Championships. Again.

The All Canadian Wine Championships are the country’s longest running national wine competition, since 1981. Just out are the results for 2019. And, once more, BC has come away with a very strong showing.

This year’s awards were held adjacent to the historic Waring House and cozy Barley Room Pub, in Prince Edward County

I judged at last week’s contest, held in Prince Edward County, Ontario. It attracted 1376 wines, broken down as follows:

Over 61 percent of entries (845) came from BC. That, in part, explains why the province scooped 65 percent of the medals. With 394 entries, Ontario claimed 24 percent of the medals (113), with some prominence in sparkling, icewine and fortified.

Overall, it seems that interest in the All Canadian Wine Championships is higher in BC than elsewhere, including than in Ontario. It’s a trend that’s been in the making for a while. Having judged here for a few years, it’s my belief that BC winemakers have truly hit their stride. To be fair, with not a small assist from a string of favourable or excellent vintages.

I’m not entirely sure if it reflects the more robust wine culture that we enjoy on the coast, although it seems that way. No question, though, it would be good to see more Ontarian vinifera in the line up to give BC a run for its money.

A quick glance at the medal categories reconfirms that strong BC showing across the board, be it in sparkling, still—or even fruit wine. However, it’s not only about the number of wines entered but also consistently higher scores. BC entries scored medals at a rate of 36 percent, and Quebec at 31 percent, while Ontario managed just 27 percent. Not to be overlooked, with only 16 entries but 11 medals, Nova Scotia’s rate was an impressive 69 percent.

All Canadian trends

Contents hide

1 All Canadian trends

2 What’s new in ‘The County’?

In general, rosé is definitely on a roll, one of the largest categories, while sparkling in all styles continues to grow significantly. There seemed to be fewer Pinot Gris entered this year, suggesting interest might (finally) be waning. Maybe. And, yes, there were a lot of fruit wines, enabling the All Canadians to be a truly cross-Canada contest.

I haven’t yet had time to sort through the results in greater detail. But here are some highlights…

Best Red Wine of the Year

2017 Marcus Ansems Shiraz $49.90 / Daydreamer Wines, Naramata, BC

Best White Wine of the Year

2018 Riesling $21.00 / SpearHead Winery, Kelowna, BC

Best Dessert Wine of the Year

2017 Vin de Glace $30.00 / Vignoble du Marathonien, Havelock, QC

Best Fruit Wine of the Year

2018 Pomme Desiree Iced Apple $26.00 / Forbidden Fruit Winery, Cawston, BC

Best Sparkling Wine of the Year

2016 Blanc de Franc $62.00 / Two Sisters Vineyard, Niagara OTL, ON

Privato Vineyard & Winery: double gold wins in three Pinot Noir categories

Full results in detail

What’s new in ‘The County’?

Plenty, as it turns out. I wasn’t able to tour any wineries this year. But we did enjoy visits to three new restaurants. If you’re headed that way make sure to check out Flame + Smith, Bloomfield Public House and Marans Dine Bar.