There are five new reasons to raise a glass to Niagara College – and five new award-winning wines to fill them with.
NC’s Teaching Winery has won several new medals— including two golds, two silvers and a bronze – from the 2023 WineAlign National Wine Awards, known as ‘the Nationals.’
“Winning five medals at one national competition is an outstanding testament to the high quality of applied learning at Niagara College,” said Steve Gill, General Manager of the College’s Learning Enterprises. “Our wine students gain the skills they need to lead and succeed in the industry at our Teaching Winery. Congratulations to the amazing alumni winemakers, staff and students behind our latest award-winning wines!”
“These awards are especially significant as we are going up against the best in the country,” said NC Winemaker Allison Findlay. “I was proud to submit some of my first vintage wines and have themshow well too. It is a great example of things we have done great in the past, as well as continuing the reputation of quality in the future.”
The Teaching Winery’s latest winning wines include:
- 2022 Dean’s List Riesling St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, which won gold in the Riesling category;
- 2018 Balance Riesling Brut, VQA Niagara Peninsula, which won gold in the Sparkling category;
- 2022 Dean’s List Cabernet Rosé, VQA Four Mile Creek, which won silver in the Rosé category;
- 2020 Dean’s List Savant, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula , which won silver in the Icewine category; and
- 2020 Marmitons Gastronomy Pinot Noir, Niagara-on-the-Lake, which won bronze in the Pinot Noir category.
The Dean’s List Rosé and Dean’s List Riesling are from Findlay’s first vintage with the College since she joined as Winemaker in 2022. A 2014 graduate of NC’s Winery and Viticulture Technicianprogram, Findlay was previously Head Winemaker at Flat Rock Cellars in Jordan, where she honed her craft producing award-winning wines including a Best in Show at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards.
If she had to choose, Findlay said she is most proud of the 2022 Dean’s List Riesling.
“There were high expectations as I had just received a Decanter Award for a previous Riesling I worked on,” she recalled. “This was our first estate grown Riesling off our newly planted vines in 2019 that I was so excited to vinify in 2022. It’s also the perfect excuse to drink more Riesling!”
Wine faculty member Gavin Robertson, who was Winemaker at NC from 2014 until 2022– and a 2011 graduate of NC’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program — noted that this year’s success at the Nationals showcased the diversity of the College’s wine portfolio as well as the diversity and talent of staff and students in NC’s wine program.
“You could pair a five-course tasting menu from front to back with these wines … sparkling Riesling to start, dry Rosé with a salad course; Riesling with seafood; Pinot Noir with meat or mushroom-based main; and finish with the Savant Icewine with dessert,” said Robertson. “It’s important that we make all these styles, and more, because it allows us to deliver top tier experiential learning opportunities in all these wine styles.
“The wine also serves to inspire our students who are intrinsic to helping maintain the high quality of our wines and program,” he said. “Spanning five vintages, these wines also demonstrate the commitment and hard work of over 100 students, teachers and learning enterprise staff operating with a shared goal of producing amazing wines and more amazing graduates who are the future of the Canadian wine industry.”
Various cohorts of students from NC’s two-year Winery and Viticulture Technician diploma program have been involved with the production of the award-winning wines – from picking and processing, to the maturation and bottling of the wines.
“The recognition and awards garnered by our alumni winemaking team is a clear and direct showcase on the educational path set by our amazing viticulture program,” said Craig Youdale, Dean of Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies. “Allison and Gavin are a fantastic example of what can be accomplished in the wine industry through the training and real work experience gained during their time at Niagara College.”
“It’s a good representation of what we do here at Niagara College, everything from Sparkling to Icewine, and plenty of in between, and doing it well,” said Findlay. “Our students deserve to learn and work in a place that is committed to excellence.
“They too can feel proud to have worked and learned here.”
The 2023 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada gathered 1,930 entries from over 255 different wineries from seven different provinces. Judging for the 2023 awards was held in Penticton, British Columbia from June 24-28. Visit winealign.com.
NC’s latest award-winning wines are available for purchase alongside a variety of student-created products from NC’s Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery and Teaching Distillery (while supplies last) at the College’s Wine + Visitor Education Centre, located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake (135 Taylor Rd.) or online at ncteachingwinery.ca.
The NC Teaching Winery became Canada’s first commercial teaching winery in Canada when it was launched in November 2002 and is the only facility of its kind in the country today. It is located at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 10,000 students from over 95 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is consistently ranked among Canada’s top 10 colleges for research funding.Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.
Photo: NC Winemaker Allison Findlay holds a bottle of Dean’s List Rosé and Dean’s List Riesling. The award-winning wines are from her first vintage as NC Winemaker.
