By James Rose, Special to the Times Chronicle

The WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC), often referred to as the Nationals, is Canada’s largest and most prestigious wine competition, designed to evaluate and celebrate the best Canadian-grown and produced wines.

The competition was held this year in Penticton from June 21 to 25. The Nationals are a cornerstone of the Canadian wine industry, offering a rigorous, transparent platform to celebrate excellence, highlight regional diversity, and guide consumers.

The NWAC evaluates wines from across Canada, with entries from wineries located in provinces including British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. In recent years, the competition has seen 1,800 to 2,000 wines from over 230 wineries, judged by a panel of wine experts, including critics, sommeliers, educators from Canada and occasionally international guests.

Wineries from the Oliver-Osoyoos-Similkameen region, encompassing the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valley, excelled in this year’s competition. Of the estimated 70 wineries home to the region, 33 returned with 116 total medals.

Moon Curser Vineyards led with 13 (one platinum, four gold, four silver, four bronze). “[It was] our largest haul ever,” said Crystal Coverdale, Moon Curser’s general manager.

“Including the only platinum medal awarded in the Library Wine category to our Malbec 2020.” Said one critic of the Malbec, retailing at approximately $40 per bottle: “Fantastic expression of Malbec. Blueberry all the way, fruit, fresh and compote. Palate is spicy.” Said another: “A richly extracted, deep purple red wine with intense aromas and flavours of black currants and blueberries.”

Moon Curser began operations in 2004, when Chris and Beata Tolley purchased an old orchard in need of replanting and set about converting it into what is now the Moon Curser Home Vineyard block, winery and tasting room. After two decades of shaping Moon Curser into one of Canada’s most celebrated wineries the Tolley’s retired this year. Taking over the business is a family of accomplished South Okanagan grape growers – Sukhvir (Sukhi) Dhaliwal, Gurjit Dhaliwal and Harjit Dhaliwal.

The Moon Curser name is an homage to the gold smuggling history of Osoyoos. And the winery’s focus has been to make premium wines from old-world grape varieties not previously planted in the Okanagan such as Tannat, Dolcetto and Touriga Nacional.

These varieties have not historically been a part of the South Okanagan viticulture, but thrive in the distinctive terroir of the Osoyoos East Bench and deliver unique, world-class interpretations of these wines.

In 2019, Moon Curser was awarded the coveted title of Best Performing Small Winery at the NWAC. “That award moved the needle,” said Coverdale when asked if such awards help drive sales. “But that year was tough because it was going into the COVID-19 lockdown. Nobody was able to come visit, though our online sales were strong.”

Vineyards submit wines to the NWAC based on what is available. For this year’s competition, Moon Curser submitted wine largely from the 2022 vintage.

“In 2022 everything came together,” said Coverdale. “It’s a vintage that wine writers say was good across the board in the Okanagan.” That year, favourable growing conditions led to bountiful stock levels. But just because one year is good does not mean the next will be.

“We had two winters in a row after that with uncharacteristically bitter cold snaps that made it very difficult for not just us but many producers.” As Will Rogers once said, the farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.

For the first time in 2025, the NWAC introduced the Library Wine category as part of the judging process.

This segment of the competition, featuring wines five years or older, was not designed to compare aged wines against each other, but rather to look at each wine independently and to make an assessment based on where the wine is in its lifecycle, and how well it is ageing and tasting.

A total of 75 per cent of the library wines entered were from BC with the remainder from Ontario.

The next largest haul came from the Similkameen Valley’s Corcelettes Estate Winery earning 11 medals (two gold, four silver, five bronze). Their Corcelettes Syrah 2022, awarded gold, was according to one critic, “… easily the biggest and most structured Syrah of the lot, dripping with hematic juices.”

Said another: “This is a chewy, Rhone style Syrah with red fruit, exotic wood and a peppery finish.”

According to critic Geoffrey Moss, Syrah is responsible for some of Canada’s greatest wines. “There’s a treasure trove of three platinums and 18 golds, which I’d confidently pour against the world’s best,” he said in his review of the grape. “

That, in large part, is because Syrah is arguably the top-performing grape variety in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys and overall 88 per cent of the Syrah medal winners were from BC. And this category consistently over-performs, with 82 per cent of entries earning a medal this year.”

Founded in 2001 by wine critics Anthony Gismondi and David Lawrason, the NWAC aims to provide a level playing field for Canadian wineries to benchmark their products against peers, inform producers of their progress, and guide consumers toward high-quality Canadian wines.

Wines are judged blind, meaning judges do not know the producer, origin, or price, to eliminate bias. Wines are organized into flights by grape variety or style (e.g., Pinot Gris, Sparkling, Red Blends) for consistent evaluation.

The panel of judges consists of experienced wine professionals, including leading wine writers, trade buyers, and sommeliers. An apprentice program introduces promising tasters to the process, mentoring them for future roles.

Wines are evaluated for balance, complexity, and depth over multiple rounds. Scores determine medal rankings, with the top one percent earning platinum, followed by gold, silver, and bronze for “very good” wines. Detailed tasting notes and scores are often provided, especially for top winners.

There are also special awards categories including Winery of the Year, Best Performing Small Winery, and Top 25 Wineries in Canada. Three wineries in the Oliver-Osoyoos-Similkameen region ranked in the top 25 this year. Moon Curser (18th), Similkameen Valley’s Orofino Vineyards (19th) and Oliver’s Black Hills Estate Winery (21st).

This year’s Canadian Winery of the Year was awarded to Mission Hill Family Estate. “The Okanagan hilltop winery with the stunning vistas has returned to the top of the heap once again,” said NWAC co-founder Anthony Gismondi in a press release.

“It first happened when Mission Hill Family Estate took Winery of the Year honours at the inaugural awards in 2001 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Twenty-five years later, they grabbed the ring for the sixth time, confirming a consistent commitment to excellence.”

Naramata’s Laughing Stock Vineyards won Best Performing Small Winery of the Year. Laughing Stock was founded in 2003 by David and Cynthia Enns, former investment professionals who brought their financial acumen to winemaking with the launch of Portfolio, their flagship Bordeaux-style red blend, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.