Results of the 2024 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Orange Wine

Category Overview by Judge Jacky Blisson, MW

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

The jury is still out on exactly what constitutes a skin contact white wine. How long of a contact period is necessary to qualify? What grape varieties work best? Can we still call them “orange wine” or is that term now passé? After all, skin contact whites range so widely in colour and style.

If this year’s medalists tell us anything, it is that the category is still all about experimentation, and the results are exciting. Silver medal winner, Inniskillin’s Discovery Series P3 is a blend of white and red varieties, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Petit Verdot, with over a week on skins giving it a light salmon colour, vivid fruit, and a gentle phenolic grip.

Niagara’s popular Vidal grape responds very well to skin contact, bringing texture and complexity to its exuberant, tropical fruit profile. It is therefore no surprise that several noteworthy entries were Vidal based. The aromatic Gewürztraminer, with its subtly oily mouthfeel, can also benefit from a subtle tannic framework, and there were some great entries here too.

And the winners are…

Inniskillin Niagara 2022 Discovery Series P3, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

Creekside 2023 Undercurrent Madame Marmalade Morgan Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Lailey Winery 2021 Barrel Aged Skin Fermented Vidal, Ontario
Lailey Winery 2021 Orange Wine Skin Fermented Vidal, Ontario
Pelee Island 2021 Empress Orange, Lake Erie North Shore, Ontario

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