Photo credit: O’Rourke Family Estate
Nikki Callaway
Nikki Callaway, winemaker at O’Rourke Family Estate.
O’Rourke Family Estate, a relative newcomer to the Canadian wine scene located in Lake Country, has received international recognition for its 2020 Chardonnay.
The wine was awarded top honours at the Chardonnay du Monde wine competition, which took place in Burgundy, France. O’Rourke Family Estate was the only Canadian winery to be recognized in the top 10, out of a field of 530 entries from 32 countries.
Proprietor Dennis O’Rourke’s vision for the winery was to be in a class of its own, and it seems that winemaker Nikki Callaway is leading them in that direction. With 110 acres under vine on over 300 acres of land, O’Rourke Family Estate is home to world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Callaway has received recognition for her winemaking skills in the past, but the winery’s inaugural vintage has now put them on the world map.
“I could not be more excited for our entire team to have received such an esteemed award so early in our journey,” said Callaway.
She attributed the win to the exceptional fruit grown in the Lake Country sub-GI and the team’s approach of letting nature lead the way to showcase the elegant characteristics of Chardonnay.
The recognition received by O’Rourke Family Estate at the Chardonnay du Monde competition reinforces the winery’s commitment to producing high-quality wines and positions them as one of the world’s top Chardonnay producers.