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
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.
Not having been to the Niagara wine region since May of 2019, my wife and I decided that this spring was time for a return trip. Given that there are now around 100 wineries operating in the region, the all-important question was, which wineries should we visit? To help narrow the field I used several techniques: personal recommendations, previous award results, some of my own curiosity and follow ups from previous adventures. The result was that we ventured to 7 wineries: Domaine Le Clos Jordanne, Megalomaniac, Two Sisters Vineyards, Stone Eagle Winery, Fielding Estate Winery, Chateau des Charmes and Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery.
Domaine Le Clos Jordanne
Over the next few weeks I will share some of my winery experiences; some good, some not so good, but all were enlightening.
I will begin with Domaine Le Clos Jordanne, which now occupies the site of the former Angels Gate Winery. In May of 2023, Angels Gate was purchased by Arterra Wines Canada Inc. However, Arterra was not interested in continuing the production of Angels Gate wines. Instead, they were looking for a physical home for their Le Clos Jordanne French inspired wines, under the direction of their winemaker Thomas Bachelder. Bachelder is internationally recognized and is Le Clos Jordanne’s original founding winemaker who is specialized in the production of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. His terroir-revealing wines showcase how Old World, French Burgundy style winemaking techniques can apply to New World terroir with minimal intervention to produce great wines.
Following the French philosophy, Domaine Le Clos Jordanne only produces wines supported by the local terroir. Thus, the selection at the winery is limited to a variety of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. So if you are looking to purchase a wide range of varietals, or looking for something other than Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, this winery is not for you. However, if you are a fan of true Burgundy style wines, Domaine Le Clos Jordanne is worth a look.
My wife and I couldn’t resist getting some of their neutral oaked Chardonnay and a couple of different Pinot Noirs to try.
As the population ages and our good health versus sugar becoming a concern, wine lovers are becoming more troubled about whether they can reduce their sugar intake and still enjoy wine. As I have stated before, there continue to be many health benefits from wine and many are naturally low in sugar.
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Wine contains natural sugar that comes from the grapes. The varietal and climate that it is grown in determine the amount of sugar in the wine. Grapes produced in warm climates tend to generate more sugar, which in turn leads to wines with a higher alcohol content. In comparison, grapes from cooler climates do not ripen as quickly or as much and therefore generate less sugar and lower levels of alcohol. Thus, a single grape varietal can produce wine with differing levels of sugar and alcohol, depending on where it is grown.
Winemakers can also impact sugar levels through the making of the wine. If the fermentation process is stopped before the yeast has converted all the sugars into alcohol, the wine will be higher in residual sugar.
High-sugar wines also result when the grapes are left on the vine for a longer period before harvesting. The resulting wines are often referred to as “Late Harvest” wines. Another example of grapes being left on the vine for an extended period making it very sweet is “Icewine”.
Because no wine is alcohol free, it can never be completely sugar free. However, be sure to avoid less-expensive, mass-produced wines as these are known to be higher in residual sugars. These cheaper wineries often utilize tricks such as adding artificial acids to help balance overly sweet wines or adding artificial sugars to add balance to overly sour grapes.
Instead, opt for wines made in small, high-quality wineries that don’t intervene with the natural process of the grapes. Make sure they focus on traditional winemaking techniques. It is best to look for organic, biodynamic and natural wines.
Fundamentally, the dryer a wine, the less sugar it contains. Dry wines have lower levels of sugar, ranging from 1 to 3 grams per litre of wine or between 0.9 to 2 grams per 150 ml or 5 oz glass.
Dry white wine options include:
Muscadet (bone dry)
Sauvignon Blanc (dry)
Chablis (bone dry)
Chardonnay (dry)
Grenache Blac (bone dry)
Pinot Gris (dry)
Pinot Grigio (bone dry)
Chenin Blanc (dry)
Viognier (dry)
Dry Riesling (dry)
Moscato
Dry red wine options include:
Barolo (bone dry)
Cabernet Sauvignon (dry)
Chianti (bone dry)
Pinot Noir (dry)
Sangiovese (dry)
Tempranillo (dry)
Merlot (dry)
Malbec (bone dry)
Nebbiolo (bone dry)
Syrah (dry)
Valpolicella (dry)
Sparkling wines such as Champagne and Prosecco come in a range of sweetness levels. While there is a market for very sweet sparkling wines, with plenty of residual sugar, there are a number of dry and extra-dry varieties. Check the label for terms like “Brut Nature”, “Extra Brut,” or “Dry”.
One final point to contemplate; the higher the alcohol content of the wine, the less residual sugar it contains, but the more calories the wine has.
I have written quite a few posts about wine decanters and the practice of decanting over the years but until now I have never addressed the question of how long various varietals should be decanted for. Decanting times vary depending on the varietal and the age of the wine. Generally, young, bold reds need 1 to 3 hours to soften tannins while lighter reds benefit from just 30 to 60 minutes. Mature wines only need enough time to separate out any sediment that has collected in the bottle – generally no more than 20 minutes. In this case, too much oxygen can quickly weaken the flavour. White wines and sparkling wines don’t often benefit from decanting, but some full-bodied whites will benefit from up to 30 minutes.
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Here is a more detailed guideline to help you achieve the optimum amount of decanting:
Light-bodied red wines – 20 to 30 minutes
Beaujolais
Gamay
Pinot Noir
Medium-bodied red wines – 30 to 60 minutes
Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Grenache
Malbec
Merlot
Sangiovese
Syrah
Tempranillo
Zinfandel
Full-bodied red wines – 60 minutes or more
Cabernet Sauvignon
Mourvèdre
Nebbiolo
Petit Sirah
Shiraz
Most Rosé wines don’t need to be decanted. For those that do, the time should be limited from 15 to 20 minutes. Ask the wine expert where you buy your wine or check the winery’s website to determine if decanting is suggested.
Sparkling wines very rarely benefit from decanting. If they do require decanting, limit the time to no more than 5 minutes. Again, the wine expert where you purchase your wine, or the winery’s website will help you decide.
Orange wines are basically white wines that have had skin contact during the winemaking process. As a result, these wines contain tannins and therefore may benefit from 15 to 30 minutes of decanting.
There you have it, a quick and easy guide for how long various wines should be decanted for.
It has been suggested to me on more than one occasion that I should consider starting a whisky or wine club. Although I have never pursued such an endeavor it does provide some great opportunities for those who would like to do so. For example, it allows you to try more whiskies or wines than you could reasonably otherwise source.
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It is beneficial to be somewhat knowledgeable about wine or whisky, but it is not absolutely necessary. More importantly, a club president should be an active listener and helpful when it comes to leading a group towards a consensus on the flavour profile of a wine or spirit.
To assist those of you who would like to consider organizing an enthusiastic group of wine or whisky lovers, I have put together a list of recommendations from a few experts to help get you started.
First, understanding the basics of how whisky or wine is made and the fundamental differences between styles is somewhat essential to starting a club. There are many resources you can access at no cost to assist you.
Begin with a small group, no more than ten people. This will help in spreading the cost of the whiskies or wines that you will be sampling.
Find a restaurant with a decent selection of wine or single malts, a good pub, or best yet, a specialist whisky or wine bar, and talk to them about a partnership. If you offer to bring in a group of enthusiastic wine or whisky drinkers on a quiet night on a regular basis, they may be willing to offer you space and may even let you provide some of the selections.
It is a good idea to have a theme for every meeting. This will help your members orient themselves when tasting a wine or whisky and give them something to focus on when thinking about how one selection differs from others tried during the session.
If asked, you may be surprised to learn that your favourite distillers or wineries may be willing to assist in some way. Don’t be afraid to write to your favourite brands, introduce yourself and let them know well in advance of any tastings you are planning. They may agree to support you in some way.
Your club or society should meet regularly, either monthly or bimonthly. This makes managing venues and attendance much easier.
Social media, such as a Facebook group, will enable club members to get more involved, offering opinions and suggestions for future tastings. It relieves you of the pressure of having to come up with all the new ideas.
If you decide that a spirit enthusiasts club is the thing for you, there are additional things you may need to consider such as membership fees and financing, advertising, guest speakers and educators, any liquor control requirements, etc.
Ultimately, whether your club has three or thirty members, it is a venture that can provide much pleasure and banter.
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.
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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.
One of my favourite grapes, the Nebbiolo (pronounced “Nebby-oh-low”), is a mystery to many people as it is grown in just a few places in the world and is used to make only a couple of different wines. It originated in the Barolo and Barbaresco districts of the Piedmont region of northern Italy. There the grapes thrive on hillsides in the sun with clay or silt-based soil. For this reason, Nebbiolo is rarely grown outside of this region. Nebbiolo has only experienced limited success elsewhere in the world with there being just a few producers in Australia and Mexico’s Baja California.
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Barolo and Barbaresco wines are both made totally from Nebbiolo grapes. Both wines consist of many integral components; individual hillsides, single vineyards and the range of styles and expressions is significant. For example, the Nebbiolo-based wines in Barolo’s La Morra are very different from the ones grown in Serralunga d’Alba. In Barbaresco, the wines from Neive are distinct from the ones grown in Treiso.
There are also excellent Nebbiolo-based wines made in Roero in Piedmont. Nebbiolo is the heart of both Roero and Roero Riserva, as it is with Gattinara, a less-known Nebbiolo-based wine.
Barolo DOCG has two classifications, a “normale” Barolo which has 38 months of aging, which includes 18 months in wood, and Barolo Riserva DOCG with 62 months aging, also including 18 months in wood.
Average price: $35 t0 $100 CDN but more expensive options are available.
Barbaresco DOCG has two classifications, a “normale” Barbaresco with 26 months aging and Barbaresco Riserva DOCG with 50 months aging. Both wines must include 9 months of their aging in wood.
Average price: $40 to $100 CDN but you can spend more.
Roero Rosso DOCG must be 95% Nebbiolo and have 20 months of aging with at least 6 months in oak. The Riserva level tends to be even softer with 32 months of aging including 6 months in wood.
Average Price: $20 to $40 CDN but is not always available in Canadian liquor and wine stores.
The nose of Nebbiolo wines tend to suggest hints of floral and light red fruits that suggest that the wine will be lighter than it is. Nebbiolo’s flavour provides hints of leather and lots of tannins along with fruity flavours of cherry and raspberries.
Nebbiolo wines pair well with beef tenderloin, ribeye steak, prime rib, roast turkey, pork sausage, braised duck, braised pork shank or prosciutto. It also compliments cheeses such as parmigiano reggiano, feta, manchego, or pecorino. A wide assortment of vegetables go well, including roasted garlic, shallots, truffles, wild mushrooms, chestnuts, butternut squash, fried polenta, olives, capers, funghi pizza, wild rice and roasted fennel.
If you like Sangiovese or cool-climate Pinot Noir you should try the offerings of Barolo, Barbaresco or Roero Rosso wines.
Why are there such variations in the price of wine? Does the price reflect the quality? Why are some types of wine more expensive than others? Here are some of the answers to help explain why there can be such variations in price.
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To begin with, location and climate can have a significant impact on price. Factors such as soil, weather, and region (terroir) can impact grape quality and rarity. Examples include Piedmont Italy’s Nebbiolo grape, which is used to make Barolo, or the production of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine in the Rhone region of France.
The cost of the land that the vineyard occupies influences the price. For example, the price of a vineyard in Champagne, France is much more expensive than a similar piece of viticultural land in England.
The number of grapes available impacts price. Lower yields where there are fewer grapes on the vines produce less volume but more flavourful, concentrated and thus, more expensive wines.
Hand-harvesting helps ensure that only the best quality grapes make the wine, but the process is more expensive than using machine harvesting.
Wine produced using traditional methods is more costly than wines produced in modern, non-traditional ways. For example, French Champagne costs much more to produce than Italy’s Prosecco. However, the flavours and aromas of Champagne are much more complex than Prosecco.
The use of natural yeasts adds complexity to wine but also adds intricacy to the winemaking process and increases cost over commercially manufactured yeast. This is one reason why naturally produced wines demand a higher price than their mass-produced counterparts.
New, high-quality oak barrels add rich flavour to the wine but are quite costly, thus demanding a higher price than wines produced in old oak or without oak. Also, the longer the wine is aged in the oak the greater the impact of the cost of space and time.
Vineyard maintenance, harvesting, and winemaking labour are major expenses, especially for vineyards that produce natural wines. These are wines made with the least possible use of chemicals, additives and overly technological procedures; included are biodynamic, organic and vegan wines.
Once the wine is made, it must be packaged for shipping. This includes the cost for glass bottles and labels, shipping boxes and additional transportation labels.
Brand reputation can also impact how much a consumer is willing to pay for a bottle of wine. The perception of quality and taste of a particular label or varietal can make consumers willing to spend more money on certain products due to their trust in the quality and craftsmanship of those wines. Some of the most notable wineries include Château Mouton Rothschild (Bordeaux, France), Domaine Leroy (Burgundy, France), Egon Müller (Mosel, Germany) and Screaming Eagle (Napa Valley, USA).
Finally, distributors, importers, and retailers must all get their share before you see the final product on liquor store shelves.
In conclusion, determining the price of a bottle of wine can be complex and multi-faceted. However, as the saying goes, you get what you are willing to pay for.
Wine’s sweetness is determined by the amount of residual sugar that remains after fermentation is complete. It ranges from bone dry (less than 1 gram/litre) to very sweet (over 120 grams/litre). Wine sweetness levels are often, though not consistently, categorized as bone dry, dry, off-dry, semi-sweet, sweet and very sweet. Sweetness indicators are sometimes found on the bottle label or are available on the winery’s tech sheets.
It is interesting to note that wine experts do not always agree on the names of the categories or the scale used to describe sweetness. For example, where one authority considers a certain grams per litre ratio as dry, another considers it as off-dry.
Complicating things further, you will see that some types of wine may appear in more than one category. This is because there can be differences in the sweetness level depending on the fermentation process used by individual vintners. Yeast converts grape sugars to alcohol. If fermentation is stopped early, more sugar is left in the wine. Therefore, a single varietal, for example Riesling, may appear in more than one category.
While residual sugar is the main factor, other elements such as tannins (common in red wines) can make a wine feel drier than its sugar content would suggest.
Category
Residual Sugar (g/L)
Description
Bone Dry
Less than 1 g/L
Essentially no distinguishable sweetness; very crisp.
Dry
1 – 3 g/L
Little to no noticeable sweetness.
Off-Dry
4 – 12 g/L
An evident but not overwhelming amount of sweetness
Semi-Sweet
12.1 – 35 g/L
Overlaps with the Off-Dry and Sweet classifications.
Sweet
35 – 120 g/L
A significant amount of sweetness
Very Sweet
Over 120 g/L
Very sweet; often dessert wines.
Listed below, by category, are many popular wines. The wines within each grouping appear in no particular order.
Level of Dryness
Red
White
Bone Dry
Nebbiolo
Muscadet
Malbec
Chablis
Chianti
Grenache Blanc
Bordeaux
Pinot Grigio
Barolo
Dry
Sangiovese
Gruner
Tempranillo
Sauvignon Blanc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
Syrah
Chenin Blanc
Merlot
Vermentinu
Cabernet Franc
Sémillon
Carménère
Viognier
Valpolicella
Dry Riesling
Beaujolais
Trebbiano
Grenache
Roussanne
Zinfandel
Marsanne
Off Dry
Kabinett
Riesling
Chenin Blanc
Muller
Semi-Sweet
Valpolicella
Gewürztraminer
Lambrusco
Spatules
Riesling
Sweet
Port
Late Harvest
Maury
Riesling
White Port
Very Sweet
Tawny Port
Icewine
Icewine
Riesling
Vin Santo
To avoid disappointment in purchasing a too sweet or too dry wine, your best option is to pay attention to the grams per litre sugar level and choose your wine accordingly. The sweetness categories can help guide you, but because of their inconsistencies, they should not be relied on totally.
A Layman's Wine Musings 