Hundreds of B.C.’s finest wines were judged this week for the 2023 BC Lieutenant Governor Wine Awards.
A panel of 15 esteemed judges from B.C., and Calgary took part in the three-day event in Penticton, B.C., following a short pause last year.
“We’re all delighted to be here. It’s a return after many years of the pandemic to bring back wine competitions. This is a great opportunity for the B.C. wine industry,” said Okanagan Wine Festivals Society competitions manager Alana Dickson.
“We have over 500 wines that have been entered into the competition, 20 different categories of grape varieties, and we are happy to be able to taste here again together and to be able to find some amazing wines that we can showcase to consumers.”
Wineries from across the province were invited to submit five of their top wines, and over 100 wineries entered the competition this year.
Judges will award three specific types of wine with silver, gold, and platinum awards. The highest-scoring platinum winner will be awarded Wine of the Year.
“It’s very competitive and on an industry level, this is a highly respected competition,” said Okanagan Wine Festivals Society general manager Kimberly Hundertmark. “We’re really excited to see those results coming through in the coming months.”
Master of Wine, Barbara Philip, travelled from Vancouver to Penticton for the event.
Philip has been a BC Lieutenant Governor Wine Awards judge several times over her many years in the wine industry.
“Every time I come back, the standard of quality gets higher and higher, which is just so inspiring. And because this is my home province, I feel incredibly proud and excited about that,” said Philip.
“It’s an exciting day because we’ve already put the real work in. We’ve had two days of judging all kinds of styles of wines, grape varieties, everything and really finding the best of those. And then today, we get to find the best of the very best.”
When asked how Philip picks the very best wine, she went on to say that it is difficult, but judges look for ‘unique qualities that make each one truly special.’
“If I was to pick this off the shelf and it said Cabernet Sauvignon, is it going to be what I expect? That’s kind of minimum and then is it complex? The flavours, the smells — do I keep going back to the glass and finding something new each time I smell it or taste it,” said Philip.
“Is it balanced? We’re looking at acidity or tannin in red wines. Is that sort of structure balanced with the intensity of flavour, and then does it have a long finish does it last for a long time on the palate?”
The Master of Wine added that sometimes wine can connect to a memory.
“Maybe it reminds me of traveling to the Okanagan, something that really speaks to a sense of place,” said Philip.
“That’s a tall order, and we can make a very good wine without having all of those things, but today we hope to find wines that have all of those criteria.”
Judging wrapped up on Wednesday and awards will be presented in June.
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