Royal Wine Competition Winners 2009 at Royal Winter Fair

The recently-chosen winners of the second annual Royal Wine Competition are on view at the Royal Winter Fair this week. I had a chance to chat with some of the judges and have a look at the ribbon-bearing bottles at the Wine Tasting Bar today; Prince Edward County was well represented.

"Rightly so," commented sommelier Zoltan Szabo, who was among this year's judges. "It's an ever-emerging area, with the grapes of PEC grown in really well drained fractured limestone." The cold temperatures of the region make grape-growing there "an endurance sport, if anything, but these guys manage to overcome the challenges by bringing extraordinary passion, and also by using the new technologies that are available," he added.

Fielding Estate Winery from the Beamsville Bench showed up as a winner in numerous categories. "Fielding is a great winery with dynamic people and a great ideology," said Szabo, singling out their blended White Conception, which was among the winners, as a standout.

Affable winemaker Dan Sullivan of Rosehall Run was on hand to celebrate the fact that his 2008 Riesling was first-place winner in the "Under $20" Riesling category and also judged the Grand Champion White. He said the two-year-old competiton will be useful in raising awareness of VQA wines.

"What James [Wine Competition Manager and sommelier Jamie Drummond] has been able to do with the people he brought in this year has really raised the profile," he said. "What that hopefully will do is give a level of distinction to the award. That's really important. It focuses the spotlight on the industry in general. Overall, it's a really positive step."

If you visit the fair, you can sample VQA wines at the Wine Tasting Bar in Heritage Court. There's also an LCBO kiosk in the food vending area that will be selling Ontario labels, including VQA wines, all week, though not at any special discount.

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair "Friends of The Greenbelt" Wine Competition 2009 Results

WHITE WINE

Class: 1 - Chardonnay Oaked under $20

• 1st 2006 Mountain Road Wine Company "Barrel Fermented" Chardonnay
• 2nd 2007 Mike Weir Winery

Class: 2 - Chardonnay Oaked $20 and over

• 1st 2007 Huff Estates "Southbay Vineyards" Chardonnay
• 2nd 2007 Southbrook Vineyards "Poetica" Chardonnay
• 3rd 2007 Flat Rock Cellars "The Rusty Shed" Chardonnay

Class: 3 - Chardonnay Unoaked under $20

• 1st 2008 Creekside Estate Winery "Queenston Road Vineyard" Chardonnay
• 2nd 2008 Fielding Estate Winery "Unoaked" Chardonnay

Class: 5 - Riesling under $20

• 1st 2008 Rosehall Run Vineyards Riesling
• 2nd 2008 Flat Rock Cellars Riesling
• 3rd 2008 Fielding Estate Winery Riesling

Class: 7 - Aromatic White under $20

• 1st 2008 Rosewood Estates Winery Gewurztraminer
• 2nd 2008 Rosewood Estates Winery Semillon
• 3rd 2008 Fielding Estate Winery Pinot Gris

Class: 9 - White Blend

• 1st 2008 Fielding Estate Winery "Conception"
• 2nd 2007 Peninsula Ridge Estates "Equinox"

Class: 11 - Grand Champion White

• 1st 2008 Rosehall Run Vineyards Riesling

Class: 12 - Greenbelt Award of Excellence - White

• 1st 2008 Flat Rock Cellars Riesling

RED WINE

Class: 1 - Merlot Under $20

• 1st 2007 Wayne Gretzky Estates Merlot
• 2nd 2007 Rosewood Estates Winery Merlot

Class 2 - Merlot Over $20

• 1st 2008 Southbrook Vineyards "Triomphe" Merlot

Class: 3 - Cabernet Franc under $20

• 1st 2007 Calamus Estate Winery Cabernet Franc
• 2nd 2008 Sandbanks Estate Winery Cabernet Franc

Class: 5 - Pinot Noir under $20

• 1st 2007 Henry of Pelham Family Estate Pinot Noir

Class: 6 - Pinot Noir $20 and over

• 1st 2007 Flat Rock Cellars "Gravity" Pinot Noir

Class: 9 - Meritage under $20

• 1st 2007 Creekside Estate Winery 2007 Laura "Red"
• 2nd 2007 Frog Pond Farm Organic Winery Cabernet/Merlot

Class: 10 - Meritage $20 and over

• 1st 2007 Southbrook Vineyards "Poetica" Cabernet/Merlot
• 2nd 2006 Alvento Winery Cabernet Franc/Merlot

Class: 11 - Red Blend

• 1st 2007 Wayne Gretzky Estates Shiraz/Cab

Class: 13 - Grand Champion Red

• 1st 2007 Wayne Gretzky Estates Shiraz/Cab