It is claimed that Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular wine in the world. It is famous for its dry, bold, powerful flavour, medium acidity and rich fruit flavours. Cabernet Sauvignon has high tannins, which combined with thick skins, gives it great ageing potential.
Photo credit: wine-searcher.com
Cabernet Sauvignon originated in the Bordeaux region of France. There, it is usually blended with other varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec to create Bordeaux Wine. Today Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in many wine regions around the world, including Australia, South Africa, Chile, Spain, the U.S. and Canada.
The flavours and aromas vary depending on which region the Cabernet Sauvignon comes from. However, there are some characteristics that are consistent across all regions. It will always have intense, dark fruit flavours such as blackcurrant and cherry, as well as notes of baking spices. Some Cabernet Sauvignons are fruity, while others are savory and smoky. It will depend on where the Cabernet Sauvignon is grown and how the wine is made. For example:
Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux, France will contain flavours and notes of blackcurrant, anise, tobacco leaf, plum sauce and pencil lead.
Australian wines will have notes of black plum, white pepper, chocolate and bay leaf.
Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon will have hints of blackberry, black cherry, fig, baking spices and green peppercorn.
With its intense rich flavours, Cabernet Sauvignon will pair well with steaks, burgers, strong cheeses and dark chocolate desserts.
It is up to you to decide which part of the world produces the Cabernet Sauvignon best suited to your taste. Personally, both the traditional Bordeaux wines and Australia’s Cabernet Sauvignons have had the most appeal to me. Unfortunately, even though Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in Canada, the growing season in this northern climate is not long enough to allow the grapes to achieve their full flavour potential.
There was a new category, Non-Alcoholic Wines, at this year’s National Wine Awards. Non-alcoholic wines must be made either entirely or partially from grapes and can include hybrids such as products made from grapes blended with other fruits. There are no restrictions on how they are made (unfermented versus various methods of removing or lowering alcohol, partial ferments, etc.).
This year’s Platinum and Gold medal wine winners are presented below. The complete list of award winners is available at winealign.com/awards.
Sparkling Wines
Platinum Medal
Fielding N/V Sparkling Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Malivoire N/V Bisous Rosé, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Gold Medal
50th Parallel 2020 Blanc de Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC
Henry of Pelham 2018 Cuvée Catharine Estate Blanc de Blancs Carte Blanche, ON
Huff Estates 2022 Cuvée Peter, Prince Edward County, ON
La Frenz 2021 Aster Brut, Okanagan Valley, BC
Liquidity NV Reserve Brut, Okanagan Valley, BC
Malivoire 2019 Bisous Blanc de Blanc, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Megalomaniac N/V Bubblehead Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Queenston Mile 2018 Blanc de Blanc, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Serendipity 2016 Sparkling Truth, Okanagan Valley, BC
Tantalus 2023 Blanc de Blancs, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, BC
Tawse N/V 25th Anniversary Spark, West Niagara, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Tinhorn Creek N/V Blanc de Blanc, Okanagan Valley, BC
Township 7 2023 Seven Stars Rigel Fool’s Gold, Okanagan Valley, BC
Two Sisters Vineyards 2021 Blanc de Franc, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Orange Wine
Platinum Medal
None awarded
Gold Medal
None Awarded
Rosé
Platinum Medal
None Awarded
Gold Medal
Le Vieux Pin 2025 Vaila, Okanagan Valley, BC
Lunessence 2025 ESV Blanc de Noirs, Summerland Bench, BC
Seven Directions 2025 Grenache Rosé Solum Rosa Estate, BC
Pinot Gris/Grigio
Platinum Medal
None Awarded
Gold Medal
Bench 1775 2025 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, BC
Hillside Winery 2025 Unoaked Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, BC
Solvero 2025 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, BC
Red Blends
Platinum Medal
Hidden Bench 2022 La Brunante, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Laughing Stock 2023 Blind Trust Red, Okanagan Valley, BC
The 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC) took place in Niagara Falls, Ontario in mid June. However, the results were not fully tallied and presented until July 31st.
This week I will focus on the wineries that attained the highest honours and next week I will direct attention to the individual wines that were declared the top in their class.
Winery of the Year
The Niagara region’s Tawse Winery was bestowed the honour of being Winery of the Year, for the fifth time in the Awards 26-year history. At this year’s Awards Tawse earned 1 Platinum, 4 Gold, 13 Silver and 8 Bronze medals.
Maverick Estate Winery – British Columbia – 4 Gold, 2 Silver
Phantom Creek Estates – British Columbia – 4 Gold, 8 Silver, 2 Bronze
Painted Rock Estate Winery – British Columbia – 4 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery – British Columbia – 4 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze
Best Performing Small Winery
Black Bank Hill, located in the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation of the Niagara Peninsula, is the Best Performing Small Winery. This award goes to the top-scoring winery that produces a maximum of 10,000 cases of wine. Blank Bank Hill only opened in 2021, making it one of the most rapid rising wineries ever witnessed by the NWAC.
The winery earned 1 Platinum, 4 Gold and 4 Silver medals at this year’s event.
Top 10 Small Wineries
Black Bank Hill – Ontario – 1 Platinum, 4 Gold, 4 Silver
La Frenz Estate Winery – British Columbia – 6 Gold, 6 Silver, 5 Bronze
Have you heard about the latest craze for summer wine? It’s Blouge Wine. The name is a combination of the words ‘blonde’ or ‘blanc’ and ‘rouge’. Thus, the wine is a blend of both red and white grapes. However, this new wine does not have a formal definition or a defined location on wine store shelves because it is not yet an official wine category. Some experts refer to it as wine made by co-fermenting red and white grapes, while others consider it as styles of wine between red and white.
Styles of blouge wines include:
Short maceration of red grapes: Red grapes spend less time with their skins, producing a lighter colour and softer structure.
Skin contact on white grapes: This will produce a more orange wine.
Darker rosé styles: This includes wines that are deeper in colour and structure.
Co-fermentation of red and white grapes: Red and white grapes are fermented together.
Characteristically, blouge wines will be acidic like white wines, contain soft tannins, have bright fruitiness with hints of berries, citrus or cherries. It may be like a light red wine or a more complex white wine. Many blouge-style wines are best enjoyed slightly chilled, like a white or Rosé.
Because blouge is not a formal wine category, not every relevant bottle has ‘blouge’ on the label. Shoppers may need to look for phrases like red-white co-ferment, white and red grapes, field blend, light red, chilled red, or pale red.
Blouge wines generally pair well with light pasta dishes, grilled vegetables, chicken or seafood.
This past June the All Canadian Wine Championships (ACWC) took place in Ontario’s Lake Erie North Shore wine region. This year there were 1,085 products registered with entries submitted from all ten provinces.
If you are looking for a new wine to try or want to see how your favorite wines compare, this list may be useful for you. All prices are presented in Canadian dollars.
The 2026 trophy winners for 2026 are as follows:
Best Sparkling Wine of the Year
Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery, BC – 2019 The One – $40.25
Intrigue Wines Ltd., BC – 2025 Social Rosé – $23.00
Best Fruit Wine of the Year
Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery, BC – N/V Sparkling Golden Raspberry – $31.05
The following are the Double Gold and Gold medal winners for each grape wine category: To see the complete list, including all the silver and bronze medal winners, visit the ACWC website at allcanadianwinechampionships.com/acwc-2026-results/
Sparkling Wine-Traditional Method
Double Gold *Trophy, Best Sparkling Wine of the Year
Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery, BC – 2019 The One – $40.25
Gold
Huff Estate Winery, ON – 2022 Cuvée Janine – $38.80
Tzafona Cellars, ON – 2024 – Cabernet Franc Icewine – $63.00
Gold
Pilliteri Estate Winery, ON – 2024 Family Reserve Corvina Icewine – $85.00
Grape Fortifieds
Double Gold
Moraine Winery, BC – 2023 O’Port – $47.00
Gold
Adega on 45th Estate Winery, BC – N/V Terra Quente – $29.99
INTERNATIONAL SEGMENT FOR 2026 “Cellared in Canada”
These wines are comprised of partial or 100% imported grapes or juice. The program was introduced to assist the BC wineries after 2 harsh winters. These wines are excluded from the trophy rounds.
In the past, Fielding Estate Winery was always one of my ‘go to’ wineries for Chardonnay Musque and unoaked Chardonnay. Unfortunately, they no longer produce Chardonnay Musque and produce one mass produced unoaked Chardonnay. However, I did not come away empty-handed as I did find a wine that was totally unexpected – Rock Pile Winemaker’s Red, which is a Meritage blend consisting of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% Malbec. Being a long time fan of Bordeaux style wines, I could not resist picking up a couple of bottles for my cellar.
Anytime I am in Niagara I always stop by Chateau des Charmes with the hope of picking up a couple of bottles of their Bordeaux style red wine, Equuleus. Not seeing any on the wine shop shelves, I enquired as to whether they had any. Disappointingly, I was advised that the last edition of Equuleus was produced in 2016, appearing on the store shelf a few years ago, and soon sold out. I was reminded that Equuleus was only produced during years having a great harvest with optimum growing conditions and 2016 was the last of those.
On a more optimistic note, it is believed that the 2025 growing season produced grapes suitable to create the next edition of Equuleus, but it won’t be known for certain until the winemaker can sample the wine after some aging. If all goes to plan, the next edition of Equuleus will reach the shop shelf in 2028. Here’s hoping.
I have visited the Two Sisters Vineyards on previous excursions to Niagara and this time was no different. I treated myself to a couple of bottles of their 2019 Meritage, Eleventh Post which is a combination of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Photo credit: twosistersvineyards.com
While there I learned about their new winery, Stone Eagle, which is located just a few kilometres from Two Sisters, on the edge of Niagara-On-The-Lake. The Stone Eagle website describes in great detail the winemaking process as well as provides a description of their vineyards. However, when I visited the winery, I quickly learned that it was not a winery in the traditional sense as there was no wine shop or anywhere to see or purchase any of the wines.
When I enquired at the reception desk, which was situated in a large vestibule of what appeared to be an elaborate event centre, I was told that they do not have any wine for viewing or much information about their wines. I was only presented with a wine list similar to one you would see in a restaurant when selecting a wine to accompany your meal. It is worth noting that the least expensive wine on the list was in the $130 plus dollar range. Again, the list contained no information other than the name and price of each wine.
I left the winery perplexed as to its purpose and why it is even called a winery. It would seem to be better referred to as an event centre where you may have access to their exclusive wine list. To try the wines it seems that you must either have lunch or dinner at the Eagles Nest restaurant or bar, which is located on the Stoner Eagle property. I did find that you can purchase Stone Eagle wines online from their website. By clicking on each individual wine you can find the associated tasting notes.
Two Sisters is also in the process of constructing a hotel in the heart of Niagara-On-The-Lake. It is to be called the Parliament Oak Hotel. Once completed it is said that the architecture will reflect the Old Town’s heritage. It will be a four-story, French chateau-style building rather than a standard, modern hotel block.
Growth and development continue to evolve in the Niagara Wine Region. Whether it is all positive or not seems to vary, depending on who you ask.
My wife recently came across an article about a non-alcoholic winery that has received endorsement on CBC’s Dragons’ Den television show. Based on their endorsement and our curiosity, we agreed we would purchase a boxed set of wines online, which included Cabernet Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a sparkling red.
Photo credit: drinkones.com
I read that before sampling any de-alcoholized wine it is important to keep in mind that these wines cannot be directly compared to wines containing alcohol and should not be considered as a substitute. Instead, according to one source, non-alcoholic wine should be deemed as complementary to regular wine. However, in my opinion, if this beverage is not to be compared to regular wine, then don’t call it wine. Give it a different name.
De-alcoholized wine will still contain some alcohol, but only an amount to a maximum of 0.5% alcohol by volume. Unfortunately, manipulation to remove alcohol can inadvertently remove the aromas and characteristics of the grape varietal.
When the wines arrived, we first tried the Cabernet Merlot, and following the food pairing suggestions on the label, served it with pork tenderloin. To say that we were underwhelmed would be an understatement. My wife described it best by summarizing it by saying that it tasted extremely watered down. The wine had basically no aroma.
The second wine we tried was the sparkling red. It proved to be a much better experience having more of a fuller, less acid taste. There was a sweetness to the wine that I suspected was artificially added but according to the label, no sugar had been added. Also, given the amount of fizz and the length of time that the bubbles remained in both the glass and the bottle, I suspect that the carbonation was added rather than occurring naturally through fermentation.
The third wine we explored was the Cabernet Franc, which we had with spaghetti and meatballs. Although this wine similarly lacked in flavour like the Cabernet Merlot, it did have a little more of a finish to it. One advantage this wine had over the first was that our tastebuds were prepared for the underwhelming flavour and lack of richness, thus making it more palatable and less of a shock.
The final wine selection was the Cabernet Sauvignon. I expected this wine to be the boldest of the group but other than having a slightly longer finish there was not much of a difference between this and either the Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Merlot. We paired the Cab Sauv with homemade pizza, but I don’t think any food pairing is going to make the wine more endearing.
The breweries seem to do a much better job of de-alcoholizing as I have had several brands and types of non-alcoholic beer that I have enjoyed. I found strong similarities to traditional beer. On the other hand, the wines were a big disappointment as they did not come anywhere close to mirroring the alcoholized version of the same varietal. However, once I knew what to expect, I was able to be more accepting of the wine and applaud the initiative to produce a non-alcoholic version. though further effort is needed to enrich the flavour.
The one similarity the de-alcoholized wine shares with regular wine is its appearance. Though the colour may be slightly less vibrant, it is unlikely that anyone at a social gathering could tell what type of wine was in your glass.
Sake is the obvious choice when considering which beverage to serve alongside Japanese cuisine. However, wine, with its varied flavours, is a great match in the complex world of Japanese food.
Photo credit: unravelingwine.com
I have seen itemized Japanese food pairing lists that have contained in excess of a hundred specific food and wine combinations. However, for those who occasionally enjoy Japanese cuisine, this general guideline should provide the essential information to aid in the discovery of Japanese food and wine combinations.
White wines go well with many dishes because of their acidity and ability to compliment delicate flavours. However, red wines low in tannins will go well with stronger dishes such as ramen and teriyaki.
When having subtle dishes like sushi or sashimi, they will pair well with dry crisp white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Grigio or a dry sparkling wine. Ramin, teriyaki, tempura or other richer dishes will be complimented by full-bodied whites such as Chardonnay (especially Chablis) or Gewürztraminer, or lighter-bodied reds like Pinot Noir, Gamay or Grenache.
Spicy foods, including those containing wasabi, or slightly sweet dishes will be complimented by Gewürztraminer, with its aromatic and slightly sweet character.
Dry, un-oaked white wines or light, low-tannin reds can be an accompaniment for dishes with strong savory flavours.
As I have said many times before, don’t be afraid to explore new food and wine pairings. There are always new combinations waiting for you to discover!
Further to my previous post on the question of whether liquor sales should be privatized (see Should the LCBO be Privatized? April 19, 2025), today I want to look at the difference between government-controlled retail outlets versus government regulated ones. Examples of government operated retail outlets include Ontario’s LCBO, Nova Scotia’s NSLC, British Columbia’s BC Liquor Store and Manitoba’s Liquor Mart.
I can see where privately owned retail outlets could provide benefits in large cities where there is a sufficient population to support specialty wine or whiskey shops. Each store could have an expert who could provide insight on each of the various products sold. It could be a great opportunity for niche marketing and the customization of the sales environment.
However, in small centres, selections could be much more limited with options being dictated solely by profit margins. In this case, the run-of-the-mill wine and whiskey choices could be sold along side soda pop and potato chips. Store staff would be much less likely to have the expertise to assist customers making their selections.
Small wineries, distilleries and breweries could find independent liquor stores beneficial, potentially providing them with more market exposure. Government operated outlets limit retail shelf space to producers who can meet minimum production volumes, leaving many small estate wineries and private distilleries with very limited market exposure. Independent retailers could provide these wineries and distilleries with the consumer exposure that they are currently lacking.
Even though the government could continue to collect taxes on liquor sales, some fear that the revenue generated from government operated retail operations could be lost, impacting the government services currently supported by those revenues. As well, there would be job losses from the public sector if private companies take over retail operations.
Government operated liquor outlets have been instrumental in supporting the domestic alcohol beverage industry. Privatization could potentially weaken that support.
It could be argued that private liquor companies might prioritize profits over public health and safety, potentially leading to conflicts of interest. However, if sufficient regulations are put in place, private enterprise could be made to follow the same principles and practices as the government operated retail outlets adhere to.
As you can see, there is no simple solution as to which alternative is best. You will have to weigh the odds for yourself before deciding which side to support in this age-old debate.
A Layman's Wine Musings 