Carie Jones
In 1976, the Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting initiated by then wine merchant Steven Spurrier, set out to test some of France’s best wines against up and coming Californian wines. A panel of esteemed French judges blind tasted two similar varietals (Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon) from each region against each other. To everyone’s surprise the California wines took the top spot in both categories, bringing international recognition to New World wines.
Fast forward to today, BC wine is now celebrating the same international recognition as The Wines of British Columbia were put to the ultimate test at the Judgment of BC, an event inspired by the legendary Paris tasting. Special guest and wine expert Steven Spurrier joined 32 top wine professionals from around the world and across the country to take part in a full-day, blind tasting of 24 of BC’s celebrated grape varieties - Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah - against 16 international benchmarks.
And once again, BC wines came out on top at this year’s Judgment of BC. The following BC wineries took home top prizes in their categories: Arrowleaf Cellars ranked first among the Pinot Noir flight; Meyer Family Vineyards came in first for the flight of Chardonnay; with 50th Parallel Estate Winery a close second; For the Riesling flight, CedarCreek Winery came in second with St. Hubertus and Oak Bay Estate Winery coming in third; and the final flight of Syrah saw BC wines take all three top spots with Tightrope Winery coming in first, Le Vieux Pin Winery in second and Stag’s Hollow Winery in third.
“Since I was last in British Columbia in 2015, what I’m seeing is the increasing commitment, investment and quality,” said Spurrier. “Seeing the vineyards showed me how extraordinary some of these vineyard sites are. The purpose of terroir is to allow the grape variety to express itself and BC does that well.
“Whether it’s Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc, the vineyards are showing an undeniable expressiveness of grape variety and high quality, and in my view, that puts the area in a very strong league in the international market,” he added.
“Chardonnay has struck me in the last few days, Riesling as well, but Syrah is becoming particularly exciting,” said international wine judge Jaime Goode of Wine Anorak. “The thing with Syrah is that it can do well planted up north, but it can also do well in the south and there are very few varietals that can span both.”
The BC wines chosen for the Judgment were selected through a blind tasting conducted by Barb Philip MW, Rhys Pender MW, Michaela Morris, Kurtis Kolt, Shane Taylor, Christina Hartigan, Alistair Veen, Matt Landry and Sean Nelson, led by DJ Kearney. The selection committee chose the final 24 BC representatives out of a selection of 189 wines.
“This is an experiment to see how BC wines are assessed in a global context,” said Kearney. “The results make me personally very proud. I think the quality of wines is so high and that was a common theme as we went through flight by flight. Judges were astonished at how high the overall quality was. BC grape growers and winemakers have much to be proud of.”
The goal of the Judgment of BC is to honestly assess the current state of grape growing and winemaking in BC to provide a clear perspective of the distinct characteristics of British Columbia wine in relation to global standards, and to achieve a focused vision for the continued evolution of the BC Wine Industry. Tasting some of BC’s most celebrated wines highlights the diversity of BC wine country and showcases the incredible skills and ingenuity of the region’s winemakers.
“BC is the here and now; the combination of the grape varieties you’re planting, and the vineyard expression is really perfect,” said Spurrier. “I’ve always described BC as the old world of the new world, because the new world is always trying to do something different, and you’re doing what I think the old world has done and you’re tending to do it well and better.”
The British Columbia Wine Institute would like to raise a glass to all Wines of British Columbia, along with the region's grapegrowers and winemakers for continuing to express the individuality of the region and raise the calibre of BC wines to compete on an international stage. Visit WineBC.com for a list of the judges and the final results.
Wine BC BootCamp.
Prior to the final Judgment of BC, 26 top wine professionals visiting from around the world and across the country engaged in Wine BC BootCamp. Hosted by Master of Wine Rhys Pender and the British Columbia Wine Institute, the group spent four days studying BC’s wine culture and learning what makes BC wine so unique and special through a series of Master classes, panel discussions and regional visits.
“It’s been good having such an intense deep dive. Looking at so many wines close together gives you a really good benchmark for how things are doing.” said Jaime Goode.
To learn more visit