The Annual Cuvee Awards happened at the end of February - the best of 200+ wines from 56 wineries chosen by a panel of industry experts. Inniskillin and Flat Rock took Best Red and Best White, respectively.
Commonly known as the Oscars of the Ontario wine industry, Cuvee has been running for over 15 years now and most major wineries participate. The winemakers themselves whittle down the submissions for the panel.
Panellists are asked to not only rate the wines against each other, but to then apply the same "international" criteria they would use to rate any wine from anywhere and award a "gold" to wines they feel would win that designation in any competition anywhere. Most of the winners also garnered a gold designation.
Some oenophiles roll their eyes at the number of prizes awarded at endless competitions everywhere, but with so many thousands of wines available, competitions are a good way to highlight better quality wines - you know that at least several people had to agree on each wine...
Here's the full list of this year's prizewinners at Cuvee:
Cuvée Awards 2010
Red Wine / WINNER
Inniskillin Wines
Reserve Series Cabernet Franc 2007 GOLD
White Wine / WINNER
Flate Rock Cellars
Reserve Chardonnay 2007 GOLD
Sparkling Wine / WINNERS
Hillebrand Winery
Trius Brut Rose NV TIED FOR 1ST PLACE GOLD
Maleta Estate Winery
VIEW Old Vines Dry Sparking Riesling 2007 TIED FOR 1ST PLACE GOLD
Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery
Cuvee Catherine Rose Brut NV 2ND PLACE GOLD
Cave Spring Cellars
Dolomite Brut 2006 3RD PLACE GOLD
Limited Edition Red Wine / WINNER
Niagara College Teaching Winery
Dean’s List Pinot Noir Canadian Oak Project 2007 GOLD
Limited Edition White Wine / WINNER
Creekside Estate Winery
Reserve Viognier 2008 GOLD
LCBO Red Wine / WINNER
Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery
Proprietors’ Reserve Meritage 2007 GOLD
LCBO White Wine / WINNER
Creekside Estate Winery
Pinot Grigio 2008 GOLD
Sweet Wine / WINNERS
Konzelmann Estate Winery
Vidal Icewine 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
Strewn Winery
Vidal Icewine 2006 2ND PLACE GOLD
Reif Estate Winery
Vidal Icewine 2007 3RD PLACE GOLD
Limited Edition Sweet Wine / WINNER
Mountain Road Wine Company
Vidal Icewine 2004 GOLD
Chardonnay / WINNERS
Flat Rock Cellars
Reserve Chardonnay 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
DeSousa Wine Cellars
Chardonnay Reserve 2007 2ND PLACE GOLD
Riesling / WINNERS
Thirty Bench Wine Makers
Small Lot Riesling “Steel Post Vineyard” 2008 1ST PLACE GOLD
Rosewood Estates Winery
Natalie’s Riesling Süssreserve 2008 2ND PLACE GOLD
Gewürztraminer / WINNER
Rosewood Estates Winery
Gewürztraminer 2008 GOLD
Sauvignon Blanc / WINNER
Creekside Estate Winery
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 GOLD
White Assemblage / WINNER
Legends Estates Winery
Diva (Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc) 2008 GOLD
Cabernet Sauvignon / WINNERS
Kacaba Vineyards
Kacaba Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
Hillebrand Winery
Showcase Cabernet Sauvignon Clark Farm 2007 2ND PLACE GOLD
Cabernet Franc / WINNERS
Inniskillin Wines
Reserve Series Cabernet Franc 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
Tawse Winery
Van Bers Cabernet Franc 2007 2ND PLACE GOLD
Meritage / WINNERS
Thirty Bench Wine Makers
Small Lot Benchmark Red 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
Vineland Estates Winery
Elevation Cabernet 2007 2ND PLACE GOLD
Southbrook Vineyards
Poetica Cabernet Merlot 2007 TIED FOR 3RD PLACE GOLD
Wayne Gretzky Estates
Estate Series Cabernet Merlot 2007 TIED FOR 3RD PLACE GOLD
Pinot Noir / WINNERS
Tawse Winery
17th St Pinot Noir 2007 1ST PLACE GOLD
Cave Spring Cellars
Pinot Noir Estate 2007 2ND PLACE GOLD
Gamay Noir / WINNER
13th Street Winery
Sandstone Vineyard Old Vines Gamay Noir 2007 GOLD
Merlot / WINNER
Peller Estates Winery
Signature Series Merlot 2007 GOLD
Red Assemblage / WINNER
Wayne Gretzky Estates
Estate Series Shiraz Cabernet 2007 GOLD
Syrah/Shiraz / WINNERS
Fielding Estate Winery
Syrah 2007 TIED FOR 1ST PLACE GOLD
Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery
Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Syrah 2007 TIED FOR 1ST PLACE GOLD
Cuvée Gold Awards
Red Wine
Kacaba Vineyards
Kacaba Vineyards Proprietor’s Reserve Syrah 2007 GOLD
Strewn Winery
Chardonnay Barrel Fermented Amalgam 2007 GOLD
Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery
Reserve Chardonnay 2007 GOLD
White Wine
Mountain Road Wine Company
Reserve Chardonnay 2006 GOLD
Dan Aykroyd Wines
Signature Vidal Icewine 2006 GOLD
Sweet Wine
Château des Charmes Wines
Cabernet Franc Icewine Estate Bottled 2007 GOLD
For more information, visit the Cuvee website.
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