Canadian wineries earn honours in Italy

Canadian winery Inniskillin has won the top prize at Vinitaly.

The winery, from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., won the Premio Speciale Gran Vinitaly 2009 at the 17th annual Concorso Enologico Internazionale.

Canadian wineries received a total of seven medals and 14 special mentions at the prestigious awards, which were officially announced in Verona at the world's largest wine fair.

More than 130,000 people will attend the fair, which runs through Monday. Some 3,500 wines from 34 countries were entered in this year's competition, with results judged by 100 wine critics, wine writers and winemakers from around the world.

This is not Inniskillin's first major Vinitaly award; the winery is renowned among international media and festival judges, primarily for its icewines.

A number of other Canadian wineries also did well at this year's event.

In the still white wine category designated by geographical zone, Magnotta Winery from Vaughn, Ont., received a special mention for its Gewurztraminer Dry Niagara VQA Special Reserve 2007 and its 2007 Chardonnay.

Jackson-Triggs also received a special mention for its Gewurztraminer Niagara Peninsula VQA Proprietors Grand Reserve 2007, as well as its Meritage White Grand Reserve Okanagan Valley 2007.

And in the still wine category designated by geographic zone, for white wines aged in oak, the Gold Medal was won by Jackson-Triggs' Niagara Estate, for its Chardonnay Proprietors Grand Reserve 2007. It shares the award with Italy's own Veronese IGT Bianco "Villa Cordevigo" 2006.

Canadian wineries won three of the top four categories in the Vini Dolci Naturali Category for still wines.

Konzelmann Estate Winery in Niagara won the Grand Gold Medal for its 2007 Vidal Icewine, Inniskillin won the Gold Medal for its 2006 Vidal Oak-Aged Icewine from Niagara and Jackson-Triggs won the silver medal for its 2007 Proprietors Reserve Grand Icewine.

Magnotta Winery also won the Grand Gold Medal in the Vini Spumanti Dolci category (sparkling sweet wine) for its Limited Edition 2006 Sparkling Vidal Icewine from the Niagara Region.

Inniskillin won the gold medal in the same category for its 2006 Sparkling Vidal Icewine.

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