winealign’s national wine awards of canada

One of the perks of my job is that I get to travel abroad quite a bit. This year has been particularly spectacular, as I have been able to travel to France, Greece, Spain and now Australia. The thing I love the most about it is travelling with people from all over the world - you get to learn different wine markets and explore new perspectives on wine!...

Some folks reckon Niagara producers aren’t as adept at making big red wines as, say, Okanagan producers. I beg to differ. Kacaba Vineyards (who I profiled last week) is a prime example of an Ontario winery working wonders with their big red wine varieties...

I last wrote about Kacaba Vineyards back in December 2014, and while they continue to produce great-quality wines from the Niagara Escarpment, plenty has been going on for them over the last nine-ish months...

Hey hey! I’m in Penticton, BC, as you read this, judging at the 2015 B.C. Wine Awards. Apparently there were a record number of entries this year, which is certainly promising. More to come on the competition in the coming days/weeks...

Steven Spurrier made a stop in British Columbia earlier this week, and in addition to visiting the wine regions, he also led The Judgement of BC. Inspired by the famous Judgment of Paris in 1976, the blind tasting consisted of 12 Chardonnay wines and 12 Syrahs (six were from BC and six were...

I won’t go into great detail about Moon Curser Vineyards in general – for that, you can tune in to the blog again tomorrow for Jake’s Canadian Winery Spotlight on the Osoyoos winery.

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Friday! Wine news!

My Wine Canada partner Haywire Winery just announced their Switchback Vineyard is now certified organic. Check it out.

Over at the Ottawa Citizen, Rod Phillips talks ageability in wine – what has long-term potential, what doesn’t, and how to age a wine.

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The 2^nd edition of the YUL-EAT Festival is just around the corner. Held on the long weekend in September, the Festival puts on a great food event in the Old Port of Montreal. This is a fantastic chance to attend multiple food events, including a pasta class with Stefano Faita, a pastry course with Patrice Demers...

Gord Stimmell of the Toronto Star tries wines from three “state-of-the-art” Ontario wineries, and they all happen to be My Wine Canada partners.  Stimmell sampled Creekside Estate Winery’s Laura’s Red, the Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Chardonnay, and the Tawse Sketches Riesling, and had nice things to say about all of ‘em...

Jamie Goode, the highly regarded journalist from wineanorak.com and the author of multiple books, was in Niagara last week. In addition to judging the 2015 WineAlign National Wine Awards, he also visited some great wineries. Read his thoughts and discoveries on his blog...