Shock, awe and why Canadian wines deserve to be among the world's best

While oenophiles don't think twice about relatively newer wine regions such as Australia, New Zealand and Chile deserving praise for their vintages, Canadian wines still appear to get the shock ...

You might have seen all the media gasping a week or two ago when it was announced that, in a blind-tasting of chardonnays in Montreal, an Ontario wine beat out the mainly French competition. The French wines were from Burgundy, where nearly all the whites are 100% chardonnay.

I'm not sure whether all the shock and surprise that was expressed came from the organizers, the judges or the media. But from the way the stories were written (with words like "shock" and "bombshell") and the quotes, everyone seems to have been totally unprepared for the possibility that a lowly Ontario white could outscore a noble Burgundy.

It's not that Canadian wines don't often do well against their foreign peers, but most of the time when we hear about a Canadian wine winning gold in an international competition, it's an icewine. There, Canada does seem to have things sewn up.

But even when it comes to table wine, Canadian wines have performed well many times. A few years ago, a comparative tasting of red "Bordeaux blends" (wines made from the grape varieties permitted in Bordeaux) was held in Ottawa. Six wines each from Ontario, British Columbia and Bordeaux were judged blind by more than 60 judges - most from the Ottawa-Gatineau area, but also from other parts of Canada (including B.C.) and the U.S.

The four top-scoring wines in this competition were from Canada (three from B.C., one from Ontario) and the highest-scoring Bordeaux wines came in at fifth and sixth. For some reason, the result didn't get nearly the coverage that the results of the recent Montreal competition did.

Are these competitions important? They are if you think they are. But bear in mind that many of them involve very small numbers of wine. There was only one Canadian wine - the one that won - in the Montreal competition, which was intended mainly to pit French against Californian wines. The Canadian wine was one of a couple that were added as ringers.

And of all Canadian chardonnays, this one, made by Clos Jordanne on the Niagara Peninsula, probably had the best shot at showing well against a lineup of Burgundies. Clos Jordanne is a joint venture of Boisset France and Vincor Canada, and it's designed to produce wine in a Burgundian way. The vines are planted and cultivated as they are in Burgundy, and the wines are made as wines are made there. Clos Jordanne's wines - chardonnays and pinot noirs - are excellent across the board.

In the end, putting aside the shocked gasps and omigods that accompanied the result, the kerfuffle was good for Canadian wine. World-class fine wine might not be as thick on the ground here as elsewhere, but the quality of Canadian wine is on a steady upward trajectory, and anything that draws attention to it is a good thing.