Wines of British Columbia and Wine Country Ontario Win Praise in The Big Apple at Seriously Cool Chardonnay Event

St. Catharines, Ontario (March 17, 2011) – A group of Canadian wineries from British Columbia and Ontario recently presented their cool climate VQA Chardonnays to an expert group of New York City wine critics and industry members.

The Seriously Cool Chardonnay event held on March 8^th featured 54 wines from 31 wineries and was the second major tasting event in the past year to promote Canadian wines on the world stage. Last May, Ontario wineries went to London for a major debut Chardonnay tasting and received accolades from such noted critics as Jancis Robinson, Steven Spurrier and Oz Clarke.

At the New York City event held on the 50th floor of the prestigious McGraw-Hill Building in Manhattan, Ontario wineries were joined by the Wines of British Columbia to showcase their cool climate Chardonnays to over 80 New York City wine media and industry members.

Among the top wine critics present were Bruce Sanderson of Wine Spectator, Joshua Greene of Wine & Spirits Magazine, Howard Goldberg of the New York Times and Jennifer Sedrow of Martha Stewart Living.

“New York wine critics are as tough as those in London but they reacted to the Canadian Chardonnays they tasted with surprise and delight,” commented Canadian wine writer and author, Tony Aspler, who attended the New York City tasting and headed the panel of judges selecting the top wines featured at the event. “What impressed them was the minerality and the fine acidity they discovered in the wines –a refreshing change from fruit-driven California Chards.”

Ed McCarthy, co-author of Wine for Dummies, remarked that he had not really explored the wines of Canada and was generally impressed with the Chardonnays he tasted. “This tasting makes me believe I have to explore Canadian wines more thoroughly. I am really glad I came today as this is an eye-opening experience,” he said.

Joshua Greene, editor of Wine & Spirits Magazine, commented on a few exciting wine discoveries that stood out for him at the tasting. “They were much more about the nature of the soil and about winemaking. That really appealed to me.”

Wine educator and author Harriet Lembeck, who had previously visited B.C.’s Okanagan wine region, found the tasting to be very valuable getting up-to-date information on what’s going on in Canada. “I was impressed then and even more impressed now having the chance to compare regions and terroir to be very enlightening.”

Tom Claire, associate managing editor of Ladies Home Journal, observed Canadians are putting a lot of thought, patience and talent into what they are producing. “I think there is incredible potential and looking forward to Canadian world-class success with these wines,” he added.

Bill Redelmeier of Southbrook Vineyards, who spear-headed the industry initiative to hold the tastings,

said events such as Seriously Cool Chardonnay are essential for opening the market for Canadian wines internationally as well as bolster the market for home-grown wines within Canada. “The atmosphere in the room was amazing: the camaraderie and excitement among the 50 winery personnel made all of the hard work put in by the many people worthwhile. We have put Canadian wine on the map both in the US and Canada!’’

Chardonnay is the most widely produced VQA white wine in British Columbia, which has 144 VQA wineries in five wine growing regions - Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands. With 124 VQA wineries in Ontario, Chardonnay is the most widely produced VQA wine in Ontario in its four wine growing regions - Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore, Pelee Island and Prince Edward County.

For more details of the wines featured at the Seriously Cool Chardonnay tasting in New York City go to coolchardonnay.ca. For more information about Canadian wines, visit winecountryontario.ca and winebc.com.

Media contact:

Johanna Burkhard, Burkhard Communications

(905) 642-2029;jburkhard@sympatico.ca