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With a chuckle, Gavin Miller reveals he considers every wine he makes worthy of a wine-of-the-year award.
"Of course, I think all my wines are special," says the co-owner and winemaker at Upper Bench Winery & Creamery on the Naramata Bench.
"But there can only be one winner, so I'm happy it's our 2019 Riesling ($22)."
Miller is referring to Upper Bench's 2019 Riesling being crowned wine of the year at the recent 2020 BC Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards.
It's quite a feat, considering more than 700 wines from over 100 wineries were tasted by an esteemed panel of 14 judges from across the country.
There are a lot of wine contests out there, but the BC Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards is considered the most prestigious in the province for its depth, savvy for spotlighting the best bottles and affiliation with the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival.
"Basically, I make the Riesling as a wine we like to drink ourselves at the winery and that others will also obviously enjoy," says Miller.
"The grapes for the Riesling are all grown on our own vineyards."
You can tell Miller is in love with the wine of the year as he describes it as beautifully clean, crisp and off-dry with bright acidity and aromas and flavours of lemon tart, lime, gooseberry and guava.
"It's also a versatile wine that you can sip on its own or enjoy with seafood, chicken or charcuterie," he says.
As its name suggests, Upper Bench Winery & Creamery is where Gavin makes the wine and his wife, Shana, makes artisan cheeses.
The 2019 Riesling is the recommended pairing with Upper Bench's double-cream brie and Grey Baby and King Cole soft and semi-soft blue cheeses.
The Lieutenant Governor's awards also saw 15 platinum medals awarded and numerous gold, silver and bronze medals.
You can see the full list at TheWineFestivals.com.
As well, the awards recognized the late, former provincial Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Rafe Mair with the Harry McWatters Founders Award.
The award is named after the late, BC wine legend McWatters and it acknowledged this year that Mair's leadership helped with the creation of the industry-changing estate winery license in 1979.
The wines awarded platinum medals are:
- Lake Breeze Vineyards Riesling 2017
- Tantalus Vineyards Old Vines Riesling 2017
- O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Riesling 2019
- Arrowleaf Cellars Pinot Noir 2018
- SpearHead Winery Pinot Noir Saddle Block 2018
- SpearHead Winery Pinot Noir Cuvée 2018
- Mission Hill Family Estate Perpetua 2018
- Therapy Vineyards Chardonnay 2018
- Terravista Vineyards Albariño 2019
- Deep Roots Winery Parentage Red 2018
- Nk’Mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Syrah 2017
- Laughing Stock Vineyards Syrah 2017
- Moraine Estate Winery Syrah 2018
- Three Sisters Winery Syrah 2018
- Deep Roots Winery Syrah 2018
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