Some of Canada's best wines come from grapes grown here.

 

Local winemakers have the national awards prove it, winning 18 medals, as well as bragging rights for their bottles in the recent All Canadian Wine Championships held in Windsor.

 

Eight of the participating area wineries snagged medals, three of them double gold for both an entry in a wine category and for best of category.

 

Pelee Island hauled home the biggest batch of medals among area wineries, winning seven medals with a double gold included. The Black Farms fruit winery, also based in Kingsville, proved a repeat winner from last year, this time with three medals, including a double gold.

 

"This is the only wine-judging competition for the entire country" devoted solely to Canadian wines, said Walter Schmoranz,

Pelee Island's president and winemaker. He's pleased to participate, let alone win, and he's especially proud one of his favourite wines, Blanc de Blanc, which won double gold for its category. He noted it also sells for less than $10.

 

"It was a shock," William Rondelez, who operates Black Bear Farms with his sister Michelle, said of their win. "It shows we're still doing it right," he said. Less than two years old, the winery continues to impress wine judges, with its fruit wines bringing home 16 medals in all from competitions.

 

Wineries here show consistent results at the national level, said Bev Carnahan, director of the All Canadian Wine Championships. The acclaim and awards for area wineries is well deserved, agreed Jim Small, who blogs about wine online for his Essex County Wine Report.

 

"The quality of wines is really good," he said, adding the competition is considered in the industry as credible. "It has a cachet or otherwise you just wouldn't see the B.C. wineries here," Small said of the All Canadian Wine Championships. "This is my first time here, and I'm absolutely impressed with the quality of wines," said Martin Remillard. A wine sommelier from the Ottawa area, he was one of about 30 judges who participated.

 

"This is one of the best competitions and it's the best with its focus on Canadian wines," Remillard said.

 

The crowd seemed to enjoy it, too. More than 900 attended the public reception where they could sniff, sip and sample wines from Canada's west coast to the Maritimes.

 

The event at the Caboto Club attracted 200 more than last year, and the annual proceeds have grown to $20,000 for Windsor Regional Hospital's foundation.

 

"I think people are catching on to the uniqueness of the event," said Gisele Sullens, Windsor Regional's director of public affairs. Event goers saw cards sprinkled throughout the tables, offering a gentle reminder for next year's celebration, May 19, 2011.

 

The country's oldest and largest competition devoted solely to Canadian wines, the championships began in 1981 and this year attracted 1,143 entries from 173 wineries in all, Carnahan said.

 

About two-thirds of the entries came from Ontario and British Columbia wineries, along with entries from Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

 

To put this area's medal haul in perspective, wineries here won 18 of about 350 awarded in all for the competition.

 

Article Credit:

Ted Whipp

The Windsor Star