Results of the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

Category Overview by judge Dick Snyder

Turns out pinot gris— or grigio, as you prefer — is being crafted by Canadian winemakers into a pretty darn good wine, if this round of medals is any indication. Never mind that pinot gris/grigio is oft derided as pedestrian and un-complex, especially the under the “grigio” moniker. Naysayers be damned… the WineAlign judges enjoyed a strong showing of delicious, characterful and appealing pinots — both gris and grigio — with 62 medal-winning wines, seven of them gold.

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

Let’s be clear here: a bronze medal indicates a wine that delivers noteworthy pleasure and goodness. Silver amps that “deliciousness” to the next level, and gold is the icing on the cake. Among the seven golds, five standouts came from B.C. and two from Ontario. While B.C. wineries held a slight edge in the number of medals, Ontario wineries stood fast. The category is rather mutable in style, but what impressed the judges was the clear definition and pure drinkability of these wines, overlayed with house style decisions, of course. But, in the end, the delivery of 62 wines deemed eminently pleasurable is no mean feat. Let’s give Canadian pinot gris/grigio some well-deserved love — the judges sure did.

And the winners are…

Gray Monk 2021 Odyssey Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Huff Estates 2021 Buried Vine Pinot Gris, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Kismet 2021 Pinot Grigio, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2021 Three Wolves Vineyard Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
SpearHead 2020 Pinot Gris Golden Retreat Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tinhorn Creek 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Vieni 2021 Pinot Grigio, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

13th Street 2020 Expression Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
20 Bees NV Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Burrowing Owl 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek 2021 Estate Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek Platinum 2021 Simes Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Clos du Soleil 2021 Winemaker’s Series Pinot Gris Whispered Secret, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
EastDell 2020 Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Enrico 2021 Pinot Gris Shining Armour, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Fort Berens 2021 Pinot Gris, British Columbia
Hainle 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hello Someday Wine 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hester Creek 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Inniskillin Okanagan 2021 Pinot Grigio, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Intrigue Wines 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Jackson-Triggs Niagara 2020 Grand Reserve Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2020 Pinot Gris, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Moraine 2021 Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2021 Pinot Gris, British Columbia
Noble Ridge 2021 Reserve Pinot Grigio, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Peak Cellars 2021 Skin Kissed Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Rathjen Cellars 2020 Pinot Gris Saison Vineyard, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Rockway Vineyards 2021 Pinot Gris, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Rocky Creek 2021 Pinot Gris, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
See Ya Later Ranch 2020 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
SpearHead 2021 Pinot Gris Golden Retreat Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Van Westen 2021 Vino Grigio, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Wild Goose 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

13th Street 2020 Pinot Gris Market Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
13th Street 2021 Expression Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
180 Estate Winery 2020 Pinot Grigio, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
50th Parallel 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Arrowleaf 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Baillie-Grohman 2021 Pinot Gris, Kootenays, British Columbia
Bordertown 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Chaberton 2021 Pinot Gris, British Columbia
Chain Reaction 2020 Tailwind Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Chain Reaction 2021 Tailwind Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Dirty Laundry 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Fielding 2020 Rock Pile Pinot Gris Tufford Road Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Garry Oaks 2020 Pinot Gris, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Gray Monk 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hillside 2021 Un-oaked Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Inniskillin Niagara 2020 Reserve Pinot Gris, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Lake Breeze 2020 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Organized Crime 2021 Pinot Gris, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Peak Cellars 2020 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Red Bird 2021 Pinot Gris, Ontario
Red Rooster 2021 Pinot Gris, British Columbia
Sandhill 2021 Pinot Gris Terroir Driven Wine, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Three Sisters 2021 Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Uppercase Winery 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Valley Commons 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Vignoble Camy 2021 Pinot Gris, Quebec
Wayne Gretzky Okanagan 2021 Founders Series Pinot Grigio, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia