Chacun Son Vin - Awards - 2019 NWAC Other Single White Varieties

Results of the 2019 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Other Single White Varieties including Gewürztraminer and Viognier

Category Overview by Judge Michael Godel

No roommates required.

It may or not need clarifying but the other single white variety category does not include chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris/grigio and sauvignon blanc. In terms of medal winners, and this article, it does include albariño, arneis, bacchus, chenin blanc, coronet, gewüztraminer, grüner veltliner, marsanne, muscat, obrigado, pinot blanc, roussanne, sémillon, sauvignette, siegerrebe, sovereign opal, trebbiano, unicus, viognier and white pinot noir.

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

There is little surprise that these French vinifera grapes make up more than half of the awarded wines because their acreage, vine age and their winemaker’s acumen in crafting quality goes back a generation or two, or even three. That 10 percent are pinot blanc is truly encouraging, as are the multiple medals doled out to grapes with great potential on Canadian soils, including grüner veltliner, albariño and chenin blanc. This will encourage more plantings and pioneering work backed up by post-modern viticultural theory, while also ensuring biologically genetic and varietal diversity. Most surprising is that two of the top wines made from marsanne and roussanne represent two of only three gold medals awarded to wines from these classic and exceptional Rhône Valley grapes. If two can be great, why not others and why not grow more?

Congratulations to the Road 13 Marsanne 2017 out of the exceedingly promising Similkameen Valley. There can be no denying the effect of ripe fruit and the richness of developed sugar into proportionally knowing phenols in this beautifully integrated wine. Black Hills Roussanne 2017, Blasted Church Small Blessings Sémillon 2017, Thirty Bench Small Lot Gewürztraminer 2017 and Road 13 Viognier 2017 round out the judges top picks from the competition.

It may sound cliché and redundant to hear but balance is the key to our single white varietal hearts. If acidity matches, supports and elevates sugar than all will fall into place and if the wine is a dry example it will likely be flesh, mouthfeel and texture that work to elevate its status. Proportion, seamlessness and length are all essential tenets of quality single whites, as are energy, drive and spirit.

Plain and simple, single white varietal wines are able to succeed because of their inherent ability to express their varietal selves, provided they are planted in the right location and their handlers allow them to speak on their own behalf. Quality single white varietals display attributes of confidence and are anything but insecure. No roommates required.

And the winners are…

Road 13 2017 Marsanne, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia

Black Hills 2017 Roussanne, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blasted Church 2017 Small Blessings Semillon, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Road 13 2017 Viognier, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Thirty Bench 2017 Small Lot Gewurztraminer, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario