Results of the 2019 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Other Single White Varieties including Gewürztraminer and Viognier

Category Overview by Judge Michael Godel

No roommates required.

It may or not need clarifying but the other single white variety category does not include chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris/grigio and sauvignon blanc. In terms of medal winners, and this article, it does include albariño, arneis, bacchus, chenin blanc, coronet, gewüztraminer, grüner veltliner, marsanne, muscat, obrigado, pinot blanc, roussanne, sémillon, sauvignette, siegerrebe, sovereign opal, trebbiano, unicus, viognier and white pinot noir.

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

There is little surprise that these French vinifera grapes make up more than half of the awarded wines because their acreage, vine age and their winemaker’s acumen in crafting quality goes back a generation or two, or even three. That 10 percent are pinot blanc is truly encouraging, as are the multiple medals doled out to grapes with great potential on Canadian soils, including grüner veltliner, albariño and chenin blanc. This will encourage more plantings and pioneering work backed up by post-modern viticultural theory, while also ensuring biologically genetic and varietal diversity. Most surprising is that two of the top wines made from marsanne and roussanne represent two of only three gold medals awarded to wines from these classic and exceptional Rhône Valley grapes. If two can be great, why not others and why not grow more?

Congratulations to the Road 13 Marsanne 2017 out of the exceedingly promising Similkameen Valley. There can be no denying the effect of ripe fruit and the richness of developed sugar into proportionally knowing phenols in this beautifully integrated wine. Black Hills Roussanne 2017, Blasted Church Small Blessings Sémillon 2017, Thirty Bench Small Lot Gewürztraminer 2017 and Road 13 Viognier 2017 round out the judges top picks from the competition.

It may sound cliché and redundant to hear but balance is the key to our single white varietal hearts. If acidity matches, supports and elevates sugar than all will fall into place and if the wine is a dry example it will likely be flesh, mouthfeel and texture that work to elevate its status. Proportion, seamlessness and length are all essential tenets of quality single whites, as are energy, drive and spirit.

Plain and simple, single white varietal wines are able to succeed because of their inherent ability to express their varietal selves, provided they are planted in the right location and their handlers allow them to speak on their own behalf. Quality single white varietals display attributes of confidence and are anything but insecure. No roommates required.

And the winners are…

Road 13 2017 Marsanne, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia

Black Hills 2017 Roussanne, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blasted Church 2017 Small Blessings Semillon, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Road 13 2017 Viognier, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Thirty Bench 2017 Small Lot Gewurztraminer, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

Burrowing Owl 2017 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Clos du Soleil 2018 Winemaker’s Series Pinot Blanc Middle Bench Vineyard, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Enrico 2017 Coronet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Heaven’s Gate 2017 Gewürztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hester Creek 2018 Old Vines Trebbiano , Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Laughing Stock 2018 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mayhem 2018 Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Meyer 2018 Gewurztraminer McLean Creek Road Vineyard, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Moon Curser 2018 Arneis, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars 2018 Gruner Veltliner, British Columbia
Redstone 2016 Viognier Redfoot, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Rust Wine Co. 2018 Gewürztraminer, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Singletree 2018 Gruner Veltliner, Fraser Valley, British Columbia
SKAHA Vineyard 2018 Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stratus 2016 Botrytis Affected Sémillion, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Strewn 2017 Terroir Pinot Blanc Strewn Vineyard, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Terravista Vineyards 2018 Albarino, British Columbia
Unsworth 2017 Sauvignette, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Van Westen 2017 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wild Goose 2018 Geuwrztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Arrowleaf 2018 Bacchus, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bartier Bros. 2018 Obrigado, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bartier Bros. 2018 Gewürztraminer Lone Pine Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Black Hills 2017 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bordertown 2016 Grüner Veltliner, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek 2018 Platinum Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Conviction 2018 The Industrialist Sovereign Opal, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Crescent Hill 2017 Olde Orchard Muscat, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Culmina 2018 Unicus, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Daydreamer 2017 Marcus Ansems Rachel’s Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Deep Roots 2017 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Desert Hills 2018 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Gray Monk 2018 Siegerrebe, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hillside 2018 Muscat Ottonel, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hillside 2018 Gewurztraminer, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lake Breeze 2017 Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lake Breeze 2017 Roussanne, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lang Vineyard 2018 Viognier Lang Vineyard’s, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mayhem 2018 Gewürztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2018 Reserve Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2018 Terroir Collection Bluebird Passage Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Moraine 2018 Gewürztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2018 Gewürztraminer, British Columbia
Niagara College Teaching Winery 2017 Balance Gewurztraminer, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars 2018 Gewurztraminer, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2018 Chenin Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Red Bird Estate Winery 2018 Gewuztraminer, British Columbia
Red Rooster 2018 Rare Bird Series Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Redstone 2017 Viognier Redfoot Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Road 13 2018 Chip off the Old Block Chenin Blanc , Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Sandhill 2018 Single Vineyard Viognier Small Lots Program Osprey Ridge Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
See Ya Later Ranch 2018 Gewurztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
SpearHead 2018 White Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Squeezed Wines 2016 Gewurztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
St. Hubertus 2017 Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stag’s Hollow 2018 Albariño Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stratus 2017 Semillon, Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Sumac Ridge 2018 Private Reserve Gewurztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
The Good Earth Wine 2017 Gewurztraminer, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
The Hatch Hobo Series 2017 Gewurztraminer Guernsey Vineyard, British Columbia
TIME 2017 Viognier, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tinhorn Creek 2018 Gewürztraminer, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wild Goose 2018 Pinot Blanc Mystic River Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wild Goose 2018 Gewurztraminer Mystic River Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia