B.C.'s CedarCreek Estate Winery named WineAlign's Winery of the Year for 2022
The Kelowna winery topped all 251 producers at Canada’s National Wine Awards; SpearHead Winery named Best Performing Small Winery of the Year
CedarCreek Estate Winery.
CedarCreek Estate Winery winemaker Taylor Whelan.
A SHIFT TO regenerative farming and organic winemaking a few years ago helped propel CedarCreek Estate Winery to the top title in the Canadian wine world. The East Kelowna winery in the northern Okanagan has been named WineAlign’s 2022 Winery of the Year.
Two dozen judges tasted 1,890 entries from more than 251 wineries from eight provinces: B.C., Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
The winery has become known for the extremely rare terroir of its Home Block vineyard, a tiny parcel of land with soil diversities that don’t exist anywhere else on the planet, according to owner Anthony von Mandl. “Tens of thousands of years ago, the vineyard blocks were formed by not one, but two separate glacial ages combined with volcanic activity,” von Mandl told WineAlign.
Winemaker Taylor Whelan has released “a bevy of supercharged, vibrant wines full of electricity”, says WineAlign co-head judge Anthony Gismondi. “From certified organic yeast to wild ferments, wild malolactic fermentation, and wines bottled unfined and unfiltered, Whelan pursues the most natural paths possible.”
All of CedarCreek’s vineyards are Ecocert certified. Having recently undergone a multi-year, multimillion-dollar renovation that includes a new Tasting Salon, the estate is home to Scottish Highland Cows, chickens, honeybees, and worm farms to increase biodiversity and provide nutrients for the vines to thrive. Cow manure and wood chips from fallen trees produce compost that’s spread back on the vineyards every year. The property also has a garden full of organically farmed ingredients for Home Block restaurant.
CedarCreek Estate Winery.
The Winery of the Year honour is the culmination of CedarCreek winning platinum medals for the 2020 Platinum Jagged Rock Syrah and 2019 Aspect Collection Block 5 Chardonnay and gold for the 2020 Jagged Rock Chardonnay, 2020 Aspect Collection Block 3 Riesling, 2021 Home Block Riesling, and 2021 Estate Pinot Noir Rose. Several vintages from CedarCreek’s Platinum and Estate Tiers won silver and bronze medals.
SpearHead Winery winemaker Grant Stanley.
Another B.C. winery stood out for WineAlign: SpearHead Winery in the Okanagan Valley was named 2022 Best Performing Small Winery of the Year. The award goes to the winery with a production of 10,000 cases or less that chalked up the highest aggregate score for its five top-scoring wines. Spearhead 2019 Coyote Vineyard Pinot Noir took a coveted platinum medal. The winery also earned seven gold, three silver, and five bronze medals. Winemaker Grant Stanley is a dual citizen of Canada and New Zealand who began his career making Pinot Noir in Martinborough, a small region that spawned the grape as a significant variety in that country. A 20-year veteran of Okanagan winemaking, Stanley has also worked at Quails’ Gate and 50th Parallel.
WineAlign’s full list of medal-winners is at winealign.com/awards.
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