Local wineries from the Essex Pelee Island Coast wine region are bringing home 29 medals from the 2019 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition (FLIWC).
Leading the pack with 9 medals was Black Bear Farms & Estate Winery. The small but mighty winery has made a name for itself with its fruit wine, consistently winning medals each year since 2010. In fact, they’ve won an insane 84 medals for their fruit wines since then!
The top local winner in terms of medal colour was North 42 Degrees Estate Winery, which won the lone local gold medal for their 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé. They also won four other medals: two silver and two bronze, including in the Cabernet Franc category, a strength of the Windsor-Essex wine region.
Erie Shore Vineyard was also a big winner at FLIWC, winning a silver for their 2016 Unoaked Chardonnay and four other bronze medals.
Canada’s largest estate winery, Pelee Island Winery, celebrated with four medals including silver for their 2017 LOLA Pinot Grigio.
In 2018, the FLIWC saw 16 countries enter more than 2,800 wines. Local wineries consistently winning against wines from all over the world shows that the Niagara region isn’t the only Ontario region with world class wineries. There are also many ways to explore them, including vehicle tours from Grape Vine Tours and award winning cycling tours like the Wine Trail Ride.
Here is a complete list of the local winners:
BLACK BEAR FARMS & ESTATE WINERY
- Silver: Baby-Bear in the Fruit Blend category
- Silver: Elderberry + Black Currant in the Fruit Blend category
- Silver: Black Currant, Strawberry+Blueberry in the Fruit Blend category
- Silver Black Bear Farms of Ontario Estate Winery Inc Black Currant+Blueberry Fruit Blend category
- Silver Black Bear Farms of Ontario Estate Winery Inc Raspberry Blueberry Blend Fruit Blend category
- Bronze: Cherry in the Cherry category
- Bronze: Bear Claw in the Fruit Blend category
- Bronze: Red, Yellow, Purple Raspberry in the Raspberry category
- Bronze: Purple Plum in the Other Fruit Varieties category
ERIE SHORE VINEYARD
- Silver: 2016 Chardonnay Unoaked in the Chardonnay category
- Bronze: 2016 Duet Reserve in the Red Blend – Vinifera category
- Bronze: 2013 Riesling Off Dry in the Riesling – Semi Dry category
- Bronze: Vidal in the Vidal Blanc category
- Bronze: Pier 41 in the Red Blend – Non-vinifera category
NORTH 42 DEGREES ESTATE WINERY
- Gold: 2018 Cabernet Sauvignion Rose in the Dry Rose category
- Silver: 2018 Riesling in the Riesling – Semi Sweet category
- Silver: 2018 Sparkling Sauvignion in the White Sparkling category
- Bronze: 2018 Chardonnay in the Chardonnay category
- Bronze: 2017 Cabernet Franc in the Cabernet Franc category
PELEE ISLAND WINERY
- Silver: 2017 LOLA Pinot Grigio in the Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio category
- Bronze: 2017 LOLA Pinot Noir in the Pinot Noir category
- Bronze: 2017 LOLA Riesling in the Riesling – Semi Dry category
- Bronze: 2017 LOLA Merlot in the Merlot category
COOPER’S HAWK VINEYARDS
- Silver: Iler Road Cider in the Cider – Common (table apples) category
- Silver: 2017 Dry Rose in the Semi Dry Rose category
- Silver: 2017 Cabernet Franc in the Cabernet Franc category
- Bronze: 2017 Merlot in the Merlot category
- Bronze: 2015 Vidal in the Vidal Blanc category
- Bronze: 2017 Late Harvest Musque in the Late Harvest White (24 Brix+) category
