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Newsworthy
Vinequest Wine Partners , A limited partnership investment group that will be acquiring Black Hills Estate Winery , announced today the addition of BC-born Hollywood actor Jason Priestley to its board of directors. Priestley has made a significant investment into the ownership group and brings his extensive passion and knowledge of wine to the team.
Munro Honey & Meadery Munro's Sweet Mead is awarded gold again . The 2008 Mead Festival was held in Boulder Colorado February 8 th & 9 th .There were over 120 meads entered from North America and Europe, the largest number of entries in the history of the competition. Munro's Meadery received three medals for our traditional style meads . Munro's Meadery Sweet Mead – Gold Munro's Meadery Dry Mead – Silver Munro's Meadery Mead – Bronze
Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. announced their plans to build a $12-million, 45,000 square-foot Dan Aykroyd Winery, just off the QEW in Beamsville, Ontario. MISSION HILL WINERY RECEIVES MINISTER'S AWARD KELOWNA - Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell presented Mission Hill Family Estate Winery with a Minister's Award of Excellence today. "Mission Hill Family Estate winery exemplifies the quality, innovation and excellence that the B.C. wine industry is becoming known for worldwide," said Bell. "Their commitment to providing local B.C. products has helped educate consumers about the abundance of agri-food products available right in the Okanagan Valley." Mission Hill is a major private vineyard owner in the region, with 20 distinct estates. The winery was named by Architectural Record magazine as one of the world's four new outstanding wineries in the world. The winery was also recently awarded Canadian Winery of the Year for the second time from Wine Access, the highly acclaimed Canadian food and wine magazine. "Mission Hill Family Estate is honoured to be a recipient of the Minister's Award of Excellence," said Dan Zepponi, president, Mission Hill Family Estate. "My directive as president is to preserve the integrity that Mission Hill has created as a Canadian business in the very competitive international wine arena. We take our leadership role seriously and remain committed to being a sustainable business that respects its surroundings and builds supportive community relationships." There are 143 wineries in British Columbia, spread over five regions - the Okanagan, Similkameen, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands. In 2006, more than 12 million litres of wine were produced in B.C., an increase of over 3.5 million litres from 2005. B.C. ice wines have also seen increasing popularity, with 500 tonnes harvested in 2006. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (November 9, 2006) Rob Scapin, Chief Winemaker, Vincor Canada, is delighted to announce the appointment of Bruce Nicholson as Senior Winemaker, Inniskillin Niagara, as of Jan uary 1, 2007. Bruce joins Inniskillin Wines after a luminous career as Senior Winemaker at Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate in British Columbia . During his years in the Okanagan, Bruce worked tirelessly with the winemaking team and consulted closely with Mark Sheridan , Director of Vineyard Operations and his viticultural team to select the very best fruit for his wines. Returning to the winery he would craft his wines with the help of his Associate Winemakers Derek Kontkanen and Brooke Blair , and would consistently surprise both the Canadian and International wine communities with the extraordinary quality of his finished wines. Among the more than 1,500 trophies and medals that Bruce's wines have earned, the most recent and, arguably most significant, was his triumph over his Australian counterparts, when he won the Rosemount trophy for Best Shiraz/Syrah at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, England, in July of this year. Other unprecedented international recognition has included a Civart Award of Excellence for one of his Icewines at the Challenge International du Vin at Vinexpo in France , as well as winning “Best Icewine” at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London , England in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He also won “Best Canadian Wine Producer” at the same competition in 2000, 2003, and 2004, and was named “Winemaker of the Year,” at the 2004 San Francisco International Wine Competition. Born and raised in the Niagara Peninsula , Bruce was fascinated by the winemaking industry from a very early age. Influenced by the profusion of vineyards, fruit stands and wineries at every corner, his heart was set on being a winemaker long before he finished high school. After obtaining a degree from Ryerson, Bruce began his winemaking career in Niagara . He eventually moved out to the Okanagan, establishing himself as a winemaker of international calibre; however, his connection to Niagara remained strong. With such an impressive resume and close family ties in the region, it is hardly surprising that Bruce was considered for the Senior Winemaker position at Inniskillin Wines in Niagara . In fact, he was the ideal choice for Inniskillin Niagara, not only in light of his outstanding talents as a winemaker, but also in recognition of his passion for, and proven skill in making Icewine. “Family is an enormous part of my life,” Bruce said, “and the opportunity to return to my home roots was obviously very attractive. My wife Monique and I both feel that this is an amazing opportunity for all of us. Equally exciting for me professionally is the opportunity I will have to learn about the character and strengths of the Niagara terroir. ” Bruce and his wife Monique, along with their three children, will re-locate to Niagara in early Jan uary 2007, and meanwhile, Bruce will spend time familiarizing himself with Inniskillin's operations. In his new role, Bruce will soon oversee all winemaking activity including table wines and Icewines, taking over respectively from James Manners, who is returning to his native Australia , and Karl Kaiser, who will be providing some initial guidance as he eases into retirement. Assistant Winemakers Brooke Blair and Derek Kontkanen were fortunate enough to have spent several years training under Bruce's exacting guidance, and are well prepared to carry the torch for Bruce as will his replacement, who will be announced in the near future. Moving on to new pastures, Bruce leaves Jackson-Triggs with the knowledge that the strong teamwork that led the winery to success, will continue. Artisan Wine Co., who have had recent successes with Wild Horse Canyon and Rigamarole, are excited to launch their new BC VQA brand which is a tribute to the Okanagan Valley. Introducing the Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery. Founded in the world-renowned Okanagan Valley, Artisan Wine Co. has crafted an extensive portfolio ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Barbara Philip , 41, is the first female Master of Wine from Canada, and the first from Western Canada. She a senior instructor and department head for the International Sommelier Guild. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tonhwa Winery of the city of Tonghua in the province of Jilin, China has entered into a purchase agreement with Vitibev Farms Ltd./King's Court Estate Winery for the purchase of the majority of its shares for an undisclosed amount.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following is a short list of the 6 major trophies from the 2007 All Canadian Wines Championships. Best Dessert Wine of the Year 2005 Riesling Icewine
*Sponsored by Andrew Brandt of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Best Fruit Wine of the Year 2005 Sparkling Ice Cider Domaine Pinnacle (Quebec) *Sponsored by Jim Warren of the Fruit Wines of Ontario . Best Red Wine of the Year 2004 “Sunrock” Shiraz Jackson-Triggs Okanagan ( British Columbia ) Best White Wine of the Year 2006 Sussreserve Riesling Angel's Gate ( Ontario ) Best Sparkling Wine of the Year Cipes Brut Summerhill Pyramid Winery ( British Columbia ) Best Value Wine of the Year 2006 Monster Vineyards Gamay Poplar Grove ( British Columbia )
BC Wine RegulationsAlthough there's been little fanfare, British Columbia's wine industry has a new set of standards and regulations. Thanks to a provincial law passed on July 18, 2007, and named the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation , these new standards come under the umbrella of the BC Wine Authority (BCWA) which will implement the newly enacted The BC Wine Authority regulations will require all wineries to be registered and meet a core set of standards for both winemaking and labeling. The mandatory level of Wines of Marked Quality does not, however, include VQA certification which will continue to be an optional program. Previously, the BC wine industry was governed by the Wine Act that legally created the VQA standard which the BC Wine Institute has overseen since 1990. “The BC Wine Institute and its winery members are extremely proud of how the VQA program evolved and believe these standards have driven the positive, quality-directed growth of our industry,” says Scott Fraser , BC Wine Institute chair. “We believe moving standards into a separate organization – an organization independent of the wineries themselves and one that has enforcement powers – will strengthen the standards' credibility even more and will overall serve consumers' interests better.” “ Many of the best minds in the BC wine industry have been working tirelessly to establish the Wine Authority ,” says Shaun Everest , marketing manager at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards (harvest time shown above). With so many players involved, it was a long and difficult process. Now that the BC Wine Authority is officially in the picture, everyone can get on with what they do best… which is continue to make our fabulous BC wines.” FYI: There are over 130 wineries in British Columbia – almost double the number from just six years ago – and over 410 grape growers. The BC wine industry employs more than 3,000 full- and part-time workers, and by sales, is Canada's number one producer of premium wine grapes.
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regulations and recommend future changes. 
