Summary: <br> <br> <br> THE FIFTH AND FINAL JUDGMENT OF BC<br> <br> THE SHOW<br> The Wines of British Columbia were put to the ultimate test at the final Judgment of BC on Tuesday, October 29, where 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.<br> I was honoured to be one of 32 wine judges in the room on the day.<br> Trust me, it was/is a humbling experience tasting wines “blind” and have a sheet in front of you that asks you to decide whether the wine is from BC or The World.<br> <br> Your nose, your mouth, your mind plays tricks on you.<br> For each varietal there were 6 from BC and 4 benchmarks from around the world.<br> We started with Pinot Noir, then Chardonnay.<br> Following that grueling morning we all headed for lunch and lots of talk about what was to come.<br> The afternoon was spent tasting and spitting Riesling and Syrah.<br> Paperwork was furiously filled out and collected. DJ Kearney, the moderator and people wrangler asked for comments about what we had just experienced. Everyone seemed to have a comment, especially those from outside BC.<br> So many faces and memories in the room. Most of them friends who had watched the BC wine industry grow and work hard to be better.<br> Hosted by the BC Wine Institute, and curated by wine expert DJ Kearney, the final Judgment of BC took place in Penticton. Inspired by the legendary Judgment of Paris in 1976, the inaugural Judgment of BC was hosted in 2015 by the BC Wine Institute in honour of Steven Spurrier’s visit to British Columbia.<br> <br> <br> Five years later, the BC wine industry was thrilled to welcome Steven Spurrier back to BC wine country to taste and evaluate world-class wines from the region.<br> “What I think is really exciting about BC wines is we’re tasting more and more like ourselves, our individual regions and individual sites. Our best examples are fresh on the palate, pure of fruit and really speak to our beautiful, cool, but hot climate.” Judge Barb Phillip, MW.<br> Tasting Room Radio would like to congratulate all BC wines who made the Judgment list and the following BC wineries who took home top prizes in their categories. Arrowleaf Cellars ranked first among the Pinot Noir flight.<br> Meyer Family Vineyards came in first for the flight of Chardonnay, with 50th Parallel Estate Winery in close second. For the Riesling flight, CedarCreek Winery came in second with St. Hubertus and Oak Bay Estate Winery coming in third.<br> 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 and Vineyard in third.<br> (Complete results at the bottom of page)<br> Guests on this edition of Tasting Room Radio include:<br> <br> Gurvinder Bhatia – Edmonton Journal/Quench Magazine<br> Daenna van Mulligen – The Wine Diva<br> DJ Kearney – New District<br> Dr. Jamie Goode – Wine Journalist/Wineanorak.com<br> Laura Kittmer – Wines of BC<br> Steven Spurrier – Decanter<br> Mark Filatow – Waterfront Bistro<br> Kurtis Kolt – Georgia Straight<br> Rhys Pender – Master of Wine<br> Anthony Gismondi – Vancouver Sun/Best of Food and Wine<br> Sebastien Le Goff – Cactus Club Canada<br> Manual Zuppiger = Arrowleaf Vineyards<br> Larry Gerelus – Stag’s Hollow<br> JAK Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards<br> Lyndsay O’Rourke – Tightrope<br> <br> <a href="http://www.winebc.com/">www.winebc.com</a><br> PINOT NOIR RESULTS:<br> <br> Arrowleaf Cellars Archive Pinot Noir 2016 BC VQA Okanagan Valley<br> <br> <br> La Crema Pinot Noir Monterey 2016 California<br> <br> <br>
