You'll have to act fast if you want to get your hands (and mouth) on 2023's BC 'wine of the year.'
"It's getting pretty close to being sold out," said winemaker Victor Costa from Lake Breeze Winery on the Naramata Bench.
"With high demand because of the win, we've put a two-bottles-per-customer limit on it and it's only available at the winery."
Today, Okanagan Wine Festivals revealed Lake Breeze's 2020 Syrah ($35) as the 'wine of the year' winner for the 2023 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards.
In all, more than 500 wines were entered in the contest, 14 won platinum medals, 64 gold and 108 silver (the competition doesn't do bronze).
Back in April the festivals, which organizes the awards, released the list of medal winners and teased that the 'wine of the year' would be chosen from the 14 platinum winners and announced in June.
So, 'wine of the year' truly is the best of the best, the pinnacle, the peak of the prestigious wine awards.
In 2018, the BC Wine Awards of the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival and the BC Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards were amalgamated to create a bigger and better program.
Coincidentally, Lake Breeze also won 'wine of the year' in that inaugural competition with its 2016 Pinot Noir.
Other 'wine of the year' prizes were bestowed on the Deep Roots 2017 Syrah in 2019, Upper Bench's 2019 Riesling in 2020's contest and Tantalus' 2018 Old Vines Riesling in 2021.
The competition took a break in 2022 as the Okanagan Wine Festivals revamped and reorganized.
"We thought we had a great chance of being named 'wine of the year'," said Costa, who worked with Lake Breeze head winemaker and president, Garron Elmes, to craft the winning wine.
"First of all, all the staff here love it and anyone who tastes it loves it and buys it. And then when we won a platinum medal with it, we knew our chances were even better."
Costa is poetic when he describes the 2020 Syrah -- medium-bodied, luscious and savoury with aromas and flavours of blueberry, blackberry, some floral notes (including the violet quintessential of Syrah).
Lake Breeze prides itself on consistent, high-quality grapes and wines.
"However, the grapes, even if they come from the same vineyard (in the Syrah's case the one one kilometre south of the winery) are going to be a little different year to year," said Costa.
"We knew 2020 was special. Sometimes it just happens and you see what the fruit will do with as little intervention as possible."
Here's the list of the 14 platinum medal winners that Lake Breeze's 2020 Syrah was chosen as 'wine of the year':
- Lake Breeze 2020 Syrah, of course, Naramata Bench
- Quails' Gate 2020 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay, West Kelowna
- Inniskillin 2018 Estate Riesling Icewine, Oliver
- Township 7 Seven Stars Sirius Sparkling, Naramata Bench
- Township 7 Reserve 7 Red 2019, Naramata Bench
- Fort Berens 2020 Reserve Cabernet Franc, Lillooet
- Hillside 2021 Viognier, Naramata Bench
- Van Westen 2021 Viscous (Riesling), Naramata Bench
- O'Rourke Family Estate 2020 Clone 943 Pinot Noir, Lake Country
- Moraine 2021 Malbec, Naramata Bench
- Backyard 2020 Reserve Syrah, Langley
- Stag's Hollow 2020 Renaissance Pinot Noir, Okanagan Falls
- Kismet 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Oliver
- Fox & Archer 2020 Malbec, Naramata Bench
The full list of winners is at: https://www.thewinefestivals.com/awards/results/9/1/
