Results from the 2026 Nationals – Red Blends
Announcing the Results from the 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada
The 2026 Nationals took place in Niagara, Ontario from June 12th to 18th. Today, we are pleased to announce the winners in the Red the and White Blend categories. Category results will be rolling out throughout the rest of July, concluding with the Winery of the Year announcement on July 31st. We hope that you will stay tuned to follow the results!
Red Blends
Category Overview by Michael Godel
“What are Canadian red blends,” is a consumer’s honest question. To offer the easiest and most obvious answers, wine professionals look to inspirations drawn from France, in Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley. It begins with the motherland’s three main varieties – cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot, followed by grenache, syrah and mourvèdre. Beyond the mountain lay the valley where the future widens to a field of infinite possibilities. Creativity and whimsy allow Canadian winemakers to paint their masterpieces with any grapes they choose, across a spectrum of permutations.
Every Canadian wine region holds aspirations to produce big red wines, whether they speak of these dreams, or not. The actuality is not always available, usually because cold climates often don’t cooperate, and in some provinces the necessitous use of hybrid varieties will try to help fulfill the dream. Okanagan producers fare the best, Niagara estates see more hits than misses, and the rest of Canada is still giving it the yeoman effort. “Meritage” continues its run, and “proprietary blends” can mean just about any odd collection of grapes have come together in the name of red blends. Thankfully the art of the blend has improved to a point where better Canadian reds are more diverse, and frankly way more interesting than they have ever been.
Red Blends ran wild at the 2026 NWACs, with 9.2 percent of the total wines entered, and 9.6 percent of the competition’s total medals. Only chardonnay matched those numbers. Three Red Blends were Platinum, accounting for 15 percent of that tier’s total, and 2 were from Ontario. There were also 30 Golds, 46 Silver and 40 Bronze medals, with 13 Ontario Golds showing how those vineyards can nearly match British Columbia for big red excellence. In Ontario the Niagara (flats) area showed just as strong as the benches, a parity that suggests these varieties can ripen just about anywhere, and produce solidly structured reds. The southern Okanagan Valley and Skaha Bench continue to stand out as the premium growing sectors, while Kelowna and the Naramata Bench are surely on the rise. Feels like Canada’s 1997 Tuscany moment, and let’s hope that Canadian wineries don’t get mired in a mindset of producing over-wooded, high alcohol, Super-Tuscan blends.
And the winners are…
NWAC 2026 Partners:
