The Friday Files: News & Notes from Canada's Wine Scene

Wine Spectator magazine has revealed the winners in the annual Restaurant Wine List Awards (to be published in print Aug. 31). Three Canadian restaurants took home Grand Awards, the highest possible honour: Toronto's Opus Restaurant on Prince Arthur, Lake Louise's Post Hotel Dining Room, and Etobicoke's Via Allegro Ristorante. A total of 195 awards were handed out to Canadian restaurants.

We already have some killer Syrah made in Canada. But could we see more in our future? If warming trends continue across the globe, it's quite possible. Aussie winemaker Nick Glaetzer has set up shop in Tasmania, and is doing a fantastic job with, among other grapes, Syrah. This in conjunction with a report from Reuters/Business Insider provocatively titled Climate Change is Going to Destroy Australian Shiraz as we Know it.

Want to see how a wine competition works? Check out this behind-the-scenes video from WineAlign's most recent iteration of the National Wine Awards of Canada. Brit wine critic/blogger Jamie Goode popped over to help judge at the competition, and had some nice things to say about Canadian wines. (He also just won a Wine Blog Award for best overall wine blog).

Good news - according to an announcement by the Canadian Vintners Association at their annual general meeting, there's a website coming dedicated to keeping tabs on all 800+ Canadian wineries. The website will also include info on awards, winemakers, visitor facilities and more.

Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson paid his way through school hucking cases at wine shops. He's now the weekly wine columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press, and judges at wine competitions across the country. He Tweets & Instagrams @bensigurdson.