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National Wine Awards of Canada 2026 (NWAC)
The 2026 Nationals takes place June 12th to 18th in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
First, a few words from co-founders Anthony Gismondi and David Lawrason:
“We are proud to have highlighted the evolving Canadian wine scene, especially during its early years when it needed a voice to tell its story. Having an annual benchmark of Canadian wines judged at the highest level by Canadians has been a privilege and a dream come true for us as founders.
From the start, our goal was to create a level playing field for all Canadian producers, allowing them to compete against their peers from across the country, evaluate their progress, and, more importantly, share that information with consumers. This has been achieved through core values and procedures that guarantee fairness and true objectivity.
The process involves blind tastings organized by style/grape categories, with a computer-activated shuffle determining the order of wines in each flight. We often tell judges that the first wine of the first day could be the best of the year, so the competition begins from the very first sip to the last. The top 25-27 percent of wines are tasted twice by at least eight judges, with results professionally analyzed and thoroughly reported online at WineAlign for the worldwide audience.
We have alternated the annual tastings between British Columbia and Ontario wine country, including stops in Nova Scotia. We have sought to create a roster of primarily Canadian judges with global wine credentials sprinkled with a handful of international wine personalities with strong judging resumés. Our judges come to us from various wine paths, including writers, sommeliers and retailers.
Over the years, we have worked with a dedicated group of volunteers who tirelessly uphold standards that ensure a calm, quiet tasting environment, with wines presented at precise levels and temperatures to remove any obstacles to perfect tasting. Behind the scenes, extensive fact-checking occurs over five days, with each entry verified multiple times to ensure provenance.
Our first awards ceremony took place in June 2001 in a loft atop Toronto’s Royal York Hotel. We received about 500 entries with eight judges. Originally called the Canadian Wine Awards, it was run under Wine Access Magazine for the first twelve years. During that period, entries and judges more than tripled, mirroring the rapid growth of the Canadian wine industry. In 2013, Wine Access Magazine ceased publishing, and the Awards were rebranded as the National Wine Awards of Canada under WineAlign’s ownership, but still managed by the same team from the start. Over the past dozen years, the competition has continued to grow and evolve, incorporating advanced electronic scoring for added reliability.
The 2026 Nationals will return to the Niagara region in Ontario. We want to thank the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who have contributed—our talented judging panel, tireless behind-the-scenes volunteers, supporting wineries that entered wines, and everyone who helped with shipping, warehousing, and venue setups. It has been a labour of love for over 25 years, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially in a year when our sovereignty has been challenged, these awards take on an even deeper significance for all of us in Canada. Expect the results in mid-July.” – Anthony Gismondi and David Lawrason
We look forward to seeing your wines and ciders at Canada’s 2026 National Wine Awards.
Important Changes for 2026:
Non-Alcoholic Entries: There will be two new categories for non-alcoholic wines that must be made either wholly or partially from grapes and can include hybrids such as products made from grapes blended with other fruits. There will be no restrictions on how they are made (unfermented verjus, various methods of removing or lowering alcohol, partial ferments, etc.). If we receive enough submissions, we can categorize them by sparkling, white, pink, or red; otherwise, they will all be tasted together. We will, however, recognize two separate categories:
• Non-alcoholic wines with < 0.5% ABV
• Low alcohol wines with < 7.5% ABV
Changes Introduced in 2025:
Reduced minimum annual production to 420 bottles – down from 900 previously.
Expanded cider categories in partnership with Cider Canada.
Library wine category – older vintages (not eligible for winery of the year calculations).
Replacement wine category – not eligible for NWAC, results announced separately.
For more details on these new categories please see our rules.
What You Can Win
Each year, the National Wine Awards presents four major awards: Canadian Winery of the Year, Best Performing Small Winery producing less than 10,000 Cases, Icewine of the Year, and Cider of the Year. Within the give-or-take 40 categories, wines are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals, all topped by Platinum medals bestowed on the top one percent of the highest-scoring wines across all competition categories.
Speaking of results, we have sped up the final reporting process to get the results to all participants sooner. This allows you to maximize your ability to market your wines and wineries throughout the busy late summer and fall seasons. Full results, including Canadian Winery of the Year and Best Performing Small Winery of the Year, will be published on WineAlign by the end of July.
Cost of Entry:
April 1 – 30: $160/wine + HST
May 1 – 31: $165/wine + HST
June 1 – 15: $170/wine + HST
Fees must be paid at the time of registration to receive the early bird price.
Important Dates:
Shipping to Western consolidation point ends: Wednesday, May 20
Shipping to Eastern consolidation point ends: Tuesday, June 9th
Online registration ends: Monday, June 8th
Wine entry fees must be paid by: Monday, June 8th
Important Links:
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Questions or comments? Contact us: [email protected]