Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Ontario Wines

Winners of the 2022 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Ontario Wines

Winners of the 2019 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Ontario Wines

Magnotta NV Blanc de Blancs
A fine Chardonnay sparkler made in the traditional method. A complex wine with persistent tiny bubbles with a toasty, leesy nose; medium-bodied, dry, green apple and hazelnut flavours with a long, minerally, nutty finish.

Creekside 2015 Iconoclast Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc
Pale straw colour with a spicy nose of grapefruit, green pear and lanolin; medium-bodied with a creamy texture, crisply dry, fresh and clean with an engaging tartness and good intensity of flavour.

Trius 2015 Showcase Clean Slate Sauvignon Blanc Wild Ferment
A beautifully balanced wine with a bouquet of cut grass, orange blossom with a thread of minerality. Medium-bodied, dry, round on the palate with flavours of gooseberries and passionfruit.

Flat Rock 2014 Rusty Shed Chardonnay
Golden straw colour with a green tint, this Chardonnay offers an expressive nose of red apple and melon with a floral note and toasty oak; full and rich on the palate, it sustains well thanks to its vibrant acidity.

Henry of Pelham 2016 Riesling Estate
A fine example of an off-dry Riesling. Pale straw colour with a nose of honeyed grapefruit and lime; light to medium-bodied, with guava and citrus fruit flavours that linger long on the palate.

Trius Showcase Riesling Ghost Creek Vineyard 2015
Pale lemon colour with orchard fruit aromas of peach and apple with a floral grace note; good tension between sweet fruit and citrus acidity with a long, mouth-freshening finish.

Château des Charmes 2015 Gamay Noir ‘Droit’ St. David’s Bench Vineyard
Medium ruby colour with a herbal, earthy, cherry nose and just a hint of oak; medium-bodied with meatiness in mid-palate and a dry and savoury plum flavour. Classic Ontario Gamay.

Nomad at Hinterbrook Cabernet Franc 2013
Deep ruby in colour with a flattering nose of bell pepper, coffee beans and currants; medium-bodied, dry, plum and cherry flavours with balancing acidity and a long finish.

Kew Vineyards 2012 Heritage
Bordeaux varieties subjected to appassimento treatment before fermentation. Ruby colour with a bouquet of dried berries with notes of leather, rose petals and moist earth. Medium to full-bodied with blackcurrant and coffee flavours that finish with a tannic lift on the finish.

Trius 2014 Showcase Vidal Icewine
Deep golden-amber colour; botrytis and floral notes on the nose redolent with mango, honey and peach aromas; full-bodied, sweet and unctuous on the palate with dried fig, tropical fruit and honey flavours kept in check by balancing acidity.

Inniskillin Niagara Estate 2014 Sparkling Vidal Icewine
Deep golden colour with a nose of caramel and apricot jam; medium weight, honeyed peach flavour with an active mousse whose bubbles ameliorate the wine’s sweetness and give length to the finish.

~ Peller Estates Private Reserve Vintage Gamay Noir, 2012
~ Trius Winery Showcase Ghost Creek Riesling, 2013
~ Trius Winery Trius Brut, NV
~ Tawse Winery Robyn's Block Chardonnay, 2011
~ Tawse Winery Carly's Block Riesling, 2012
~ Ravine Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay, 2010
~ Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir Traditional
~ Big Head Wines Syrah, 2012
~ Malivoire Wine Company Stouck Meritage, 2011
~ Inniskillin Discovery Series Botrytis Affected Viognier, 2013
~ Burning Kiln Winery Cab Franc 2012

Winners 2013

2012

Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Cave Spring Cellars

Ravine Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Franc Picone Vineyard 2010
Ravine Vineyard

Stoney Ridge Estate Winery Excellence Chardonnay 2010
Stoney Ridge Estate Winery

Riverview Cellars Salvatore's Reserve Cabernet Franc 2010
Riverview Cellars Estate Winery

Flat Rock Cellars Sparkling Brut VQA Twenty Mile Bench 2007
Flat Rock Cellars

Malivoire Courtney Gamay 2010
Malivoire Wine Company Ltd.

Kacaba Vineyards Reserve Meritage 2007
Kacaba Vineyards

Tawse Sketches Riesling 2010
Tawse Winery

Konzelmann Estate Vidal Icewine 2010
Konzelmann Estate Winery

Thirty Bench Riesling 2011
( Thirty Bench Wine Makers

Inniskillin Riesling Icewine 2008
Inniskillin

Ontario's ' Lieutenant Governor 's Award for Excellence in Ontario Wines ' began in 2011, after consultation with industry stakeholders including: the Winery and Grower Alliance of Ontario, the Grape Growers of Ontario, VQA Ontario, the Wine Council of Ontario, and the Canadian Food & Wine Institute at Niagara College.

The design and delivery of this program was implemented in partnership with Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College.

This annual competition is open to all VQA wines in the province, produced by definition, with 100% Ontario-grown and Ontario-processed grapes.

The competition recognizes the best wines submitted regardless of vintage or variety. Instead of the typical ' best of per varietal ', this award celebrates the ' best of per competition '.

In 2012, a total of 258 wines were submitted from 73 wineries.

Adjudication was conducted by 14 of Ontario's leading wine experts and sommeliers.

The eleven winning wines derive from one of Ontario's most concentrated wine appellations.

Ontario's various terroir conditions support balanced, complex, and elegant wines.

Awards will be presented at a ceremony and wine-tasting reception at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 26 , in the Lieutenant Governor 's Suite at Queen's Park. The awards ceremony and reception are open to members of the media and Ontario's Consular Corps.

Robert Bell's

Wines of Canada

THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ONTARIO WINE

2024 Award for Ecellence in Ontario Wines

2024 Award for Ecellence in Nova Scotia Wine

Winners 2013

Robert Bell's

Wines of Canada

THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ONTARIO WINE

2024 Award for Ecellence in Ontario Wines

2024 Award for Ecellence in Nova Scotia Wine

Winners 2013

THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ONTARIO WINE