BC Day: Lt Governor recognizes excellence in British Columbia’s wine
“The Winners!” – photo by John Schreiner. Click to see full image.
Lieutenant Governor’s 2013 Awards for Excellence were announced in late June, and the tradition of having the Lt. Governor visit each BC winery to hand them their award took place over July 24-25 in the Okanagan. This is the first time new Lt. Governor Judith Guichon has presented the awards since being installed as BC’s new LG on November 2nd, 2012. I had the great pleasure to be invited to the installation ceremony in the BC Legislature, and listening to Her Honour’s acceptance speech.
A lifelong rancher along with her late husband, Guichon spoke about her feelings about the responsibility of being good stewards of the land.
As Lieutenant Governor, I would hope that, as I travel this great province, I can perhaps help to focus a light upon the role that ranchers and all people of the land play in providing many services besides just food. Our children need to understand the great resources we have under our feet and the importance of protecting them so that we can continue to, as ranchers say, turn sunshine into high-quality protein, so that we can continue to value the beauty that is British Columbia and so that we can protect our bounty for future generations.
By keeping our natural environment — grasslands, forests, farms and the soil itself — intact, stewards of the land provide services and benefits far beyond the simple production of food.
As I listened I thought to myself who better to further the legacy of her predecessors in celebrating BC wine? The original awards were the brainchild of Iona Campagnolo, the 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. There’s a funny story as to how the awards came about in 2002 that was shared to me during my visit to the Legislature. I’ll hang onto that for another post.
Vancouver Sun wine writer Tony Gismondi (also one of the judges, I believe) describes the LG awards competition as follows:
The Honourable Judith Guichon announced that 12 wines made the list of 2013 winners of the Lieutenant-governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines. This year’s competition attracted an amazing 402 wines from a 109 wineries across the province.
The Lieutenant-governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia wines is like no other competition because the panel of judges is asked to choose only their top or preferred wines in each flight. No gold, no silver, no bronze; simply the best wines on the day or, in this case, the two days.
The awards were conceived in 2003 when then-lieutenant-governor Iona Campagnolo consulted with B.C. wine industry professionals to establish awards that would “recognize and honour excellence in wines made from 100 per cent British Columbian grown and produced wine.”
The annual competition, supported and primarily administered under the Government House Foundation, doesn’t require a fee to enter. The only restrictions for entering the competition are: wines have to be 100 per cent British Columbian grown and produced, and each winery is limited to four entries.
We’re very excited for this year’s winners, many of whom we have celebrated in the past – Wild Goose Vineyards, Stag’s Hollow, Eau Vivre, Hester Creek, Red Rooster and Inniskillin Okanagan. Our hearty congratulations to them all, and their award-winning wines. We have shared photos of the winning wineries provided by the LG’s office taken during the recent Okanagan presentations.
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
Cabernet Franc 2010
Calona Vineyards
Artist Series Pinot Noir 2011
Church & State Wines
Coyote Bowl Syrah 2010
Eau Vivre Winery
Pinot Noir 2010
Hester Creek Estate Winery
Block 3 Reserve Cabernet Franc 2010
Inniskillin Okanagan Vineyards Winery
Riesling Icewine 2011
Red Rooster Winery
Reserve Viognier 2012
Reserve Syrah 2010
Stag’s Hollow Winery
Cachet No. 03 Limited Edition 2010
Stoneboat Vineyards
Pinot Noir 2010
Synchromesh Wines
Storm Haven Vineyard Riesling 2011
Wild Goose Vineyards and Winery
Mystic River Vineyard Pinot Blanc 2012
Read the post by BC wine writer John Schreiner (also one of the judges) for a comprehensive set of tasting notes for all of the above wines.
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Stacey and Mike set for a Similkameen Adventure | BC Wine Lover
August 8, 2013 @ 1:02 pm
[…] are fantastic. Last year Eau Vivre Winery put the region into prominence by winning the first ever Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence for their 2009 Pinot Noir. But many other wines have won international and local recognition for […]