West 琉璃神社鈥檚 Mission Hill Family Estate has taken its fifth Winery of the Year title at the 2019 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada.
Besides the prestigious Winery of the Year designation, Mission Hill collected an unprecedented 18 medals in the competition this year, including two Platinum Medals, six Gold Medals and seven Silver Medals for its portfolio of luxury wines.
鈥淭he Winery of the Year designation is as big as it gets in Canadian wine,鈥� said David Lawrason, co-chairman of the National Wine Awards.
鈥淲e are very impressed that the performance of Mission Hill Family Estate led all others in 2019 with an incredible 18 medals. Never in the history of this competition has a winning winery amassed such an array of medals that range across wine styles, grape varieties and price points.鈥�
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With the win, Mission Hill is now the winningest winery in the history of the National Wine Awards, dating back all the way to the inaugural competition in 2001 鈥� a year in which Mission Hill also won the Winery of the Year title.
鈥淎 number of years ago, we took a bold decision to farm 100 per cent of our own grapes and are now doing so organically. This level of commitment to the land enables our teams to push the boundaries of viticulture and winemaking in the Okanagan Valley,鈥� said Anthony von Mandl, proprietor of Mission Hill Family Estate.
鈥淭his amazing award is not only a validation of this enormous commitment but of our passionate team in the vineyards and at Mission Hill that cares so much; relentlessly raising the bar on quality year after year to establish Canada鈥檚 presence on the world wine stage.鈥�
The Winery of the Year title is the culmination of Mission Hill winning Platinum Medals for the 2017 Terroir Collection Jagged Rock Vineyard Chardonnay and 2017 Perpetua Chardonnay, and Gold and Silver Medals for the 2016 Quatrain, 2016 Compendium, 2016 Prospectus Pinot Noir, and several vintages from Mission Hill鈥檚 Terroir Collection and Reserve Tier.
The win also comes in the first year of new chief winemaker, Ben Bryant. Bryant left his position as chief winemaker at Orlando Wines in Australia to move his family across the world to join Mission Hill Family Estate in the Okanagan Valley in 2018.
鈥淚 was drawn to Mission Hill by what I saw as the incredible potential of the Okanagan Valley and Anthony von Mandl鈥檚 vision to create iconic wines that can stand among the best in the world,鈥� said Bryant.
鈥淭his award underscores this belief and represents a tremendous achievement for everything our team has accomplished.鈥�
michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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