by Gay Cook
Here are the winners of The Great Canadian Wine Match Triumph in Battle of the Bottles with east-west coast rivalries in the first people’s choice awards for Canadian wines settle their differences with a coast-to-coast. Thousands of Canadians voted for the 279 wines nominated in The Great Canadian Wine Match at www.nataliemaclean.com/canadian-wines. The race for first place was fiercest just before voting closed at midnight on June 1, with six Canadian wines emerging as victors:
Canada’s Best Wine with Cheese:
Quails’ Gate Late Harvest Optima, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Canada’s Best Wine with Pizza:
Norman Hardie County Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Canada’s Best Wine with Seafood:
Domaine De Grand Pré L’Acadie Blanc, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
Canada’s Best Wine with Chicken:
Le Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Canada’s Best Wine with Beef:
Luckett Vineyards Phone Box Red, Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia
Canada’s Best Wine with Dessert:
Black Sage Vineyard Pipe, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Unlike traditional competitions judged by experts, The Great Canadian Wine Match allowed wine lovers from coast to coast to choose their favourite pairings via social media and real-time, online voting. “This first grassroots, “bottoms up” competition stirred up friendly rivalry from coast to coast” says Natalie MacLean editor of www.nataliemaclean.com. The web site gives a full list to the 2013 winners.
With the success of this year’s competition, The Great Canadian Wine Match will be held annually. Nominations for the next competition start in April 2014.
