Nk’Mip Cellars Winery in Osoyoos, which is owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band, was named as one of Canada’s Top 10 Wineries for the fourth-consecutive year as part of the InterVin International Wine Awards competition. Assistant winemaker Justin Hall (left) was singled out for his outstanding work. Head winemaker Randy Picton said it’s an honour to continue to receive awards and accolades from peers in the industry. (Photo supplied)
The accolades – and awards – keep coming for Nk’Mip Cellars winery in Osoyoos.
For the fourth consecutive year, Nk’Mip Cellars has placed in the Top 10 Wineries of the Year category at the InterVin International Wine Awards competition.
Three years ago, Nk’Mip Cellars received their highest honour when they were named British Columbia’s best winery and second best in all of Canada by the acclaimed wine magazine Wine Access.
Justin Hall, an assistant winemaker with Nk’Mip Cellars for more than a decade, was singled out for his contributions in the winery winning multiple awards at the InterVin international awards.
Nk’Mip Cellars is owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band and is North America’s first aboriginal-owned and operated winery.
InterVin is the Canadian wine magazine which informs its readers about all wines – national and international – that are sold to Canadian consumers.
Ranking sixth overall, Nk’Mip Cellars also brought home two gold medals for their top-scoring wines. Those two winners were the Nk’Mip Cellars Dreamcatcher 2014 series and the Qwam Qwmet Cabernet Sauvignon 2012.
It also captured four silver medlas for its Talon 2013, Qwam Qwmt Chardonnay 2013, Qwam Qwmt Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 and Qwam Qwmt Syrah 2013.
The winery also captured five honours awards –formerly bronze medals.
“The InterVin International Wine Awards recognize the best wines available to Canadian consumers and Nk’Mip Cellars is the only winery to consistently place in the Top 10 for the past four years they have entered the competition,” said Christopher Waters, head judge with the InterVin International Wine Awards and editor of Vines Magazine.
“It shows impressive consistency across the Nk’Mip Cellars portfolio that is worthy of celebrating.”
Randy Picton, the head winemaker at Nk’Mip Cellars for the past 15 years, said being part of the team that creates the Nk’Mip Cellars portfolio of wines is his greatest achievement in the industry, but winning national and international recognition is something he’s very proud of.
“I am extremely proud of the Nk’Mip Cellars’ accomplishments over the past several years,” he said. “It is an honour to be consistently ranked amongst the top producers by Vines Magazine.
“In addition, I am very pleased at the growth and development of my assistant winemaker Justin Hall for his contribution in creating the award-winning Dreamcatcher series as well as the Pinot Blanc, which have been both significant additions to our winery’s success.”
The InterVin International Awards 2015 top-scoring wines and Wineries of the Year finalists will be featured in a special InterVin Awards issue of Vines Magazine and in the National Post in September and all wineries will be posted at intervin.ca in November.
Picton said Hall has been with the winery for almost 12 years and has proven himself to be a valuable member of the hard-working team that helps produce so many great wines in the Nk’Mip Cellars portfolio.
“Justin’s done a great job since he came here and we’ve given him increasing responsibility over the past few years because of knowledge and hard work,” he said. “He’s now in charge of the entire Dreamcatcher series of wine as well as our Pinot Blanc and both have been recognized by these latest awards.
“It’s a credit to Justin that he’s receiving the attention he deserves.”
Cellar supervisor Aaron Crey was hired around the same time as Hall and also deserves a great deal of the credit for all of the success that has been heaped on Nk’Mip Cellars over the past several years, said Picton.
“His passion for his job and this industry is clearly shown in the quality of the wines we produce,” he said.
These latest awards are so much appreciated because they indicate the high quality of wine being produced by the winery throughout its entire portfolio, said Picton.
“It’s an outside verification that we’re committed to producing quality throughout our entire portfolio,” he said. “This includes our lower end Dreamcatcher series and the higher end Qwam Qwmt series.
“Our commitment is to produce great wine at all prices levels and gaining this kind of attention indicates we’re doing a good job of that.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
