Results from the 2026 Nationals – Cabernet Sauvignon

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 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and No/Low Alcohol 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!

Cabernet Sauvignon

Category Overview by Geoffrey Moss, MW

Go straight to the winners.

This year’s awards felt like a strong rebound year for Cabernet Sauvignon. The medal rate was up significantly, jumping from 51% to 69% of entries year over year. That’s just below the average for this year’s competition, suggesting that Cabernet Sauvignon can more than hold its own.

Last year, I wrote about the variety’s challenges and inherent vintage variability in Canada. But I ended with, “It’s hard to argue that growers shouldn’t make a go of it when you taste the top example.” That feels especially true this year.

The category yielded two platinum medals from only 49 entries, a 4.1% platinum rate that outperformed any other category. (Syrah was close behind at 4.0%.) Cabernet Sauvignon demands the warmest sites, and even then it only lives up to its potential in the best vintages. When that happens, in the right hands, the ceiling feels extraordinarily high.

It’s also hard to narrow down the best sites to one province or region. The NWACs consistently show that it’s a category that defies easy generalizations. If we can start to hone in on Twenty Mile Bench and Beamsville Bench for Pinot Noir in Niagara, as John Szabo rightly argues, I don’t think the same can be confidently said for Cabernet Sauvignon at this stage.

Look no further than the platinum winners, which are split one apiece between British Columbia and Ontario. The former, Nk’Mip Cellars’ 2022 Qwam Qwmt Cabernet Sauvignon ($40.99), continues to show the potential for Cabernet Sauvignon in the South Okanagan, particularly its sun-soaked west-facing benches, a thread that continues through the B.C. gold medal winners.

It’s an interesting dichotomy in Ontario, where Niagara’s lakeshore sub-appellations show promise. The platinum winner, Black Bank Hill’s 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon ($45), comes from Lincoln Lakeshore, benefiting from the extended growing season that comes with proximity to Lake Ontario. Similarly, the sole Niagara gold medal winner comes from the other side of St. Catharines, in Niagara Lakeshore.

Only four gold medals were awarded this year, along with 18 silver medals, suggesting that Cabernet Sauvignon may not be the easy choice in Canada. Yet the best wines continue to overdeliver – and at relatively modest prices in a global context. Who needs Napa anyway?

And the winners are…