Canadian Icewine Wins First International Trophy at Decanter World Wine Awards

LONDON, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Inniskillin wine estate's 2012 vintage Icewine from Canada's Ontario province has scooped the coveted International Trophy for Best Sweet Wine Over £15 per bottle at the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Produced from Vidal grapes, the wine is the first Canadian Icewine to win an International Trophy at DWWA. Its victory is particularly notable because its category was one of the most strongly contested during International Trophy judging at Decanter's headquarters in London, UK.

'This Decanter Trophy validates the work of Canadian Icewine producers and reinforces the reputation of Icewine as one of the world's great iconic wines,' said Tony Aspler, DWWA regional chair for Canada.

After picking out Inniskillin's Icewine in a blind tasting, International Trophy judges described the wine as "gloriously fresh, not clawingly sweet at all. The finish is long and tangy but not at all heavy."

It is not Inniskillin's first medal for Icewine at DWWA. Last year, it won bronze medals for its 2008 vintage Vidal Icewine and Videal oak-aged Icewine from Niagara. It also won silver for its 2008 Cabernet Franc Icewine.

The group was founded in 1975 and harvested its first Icewine from Vidal grapes frozen on the vine in 1984. It has wineries in both Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.

Only 33 international trophies were awarded at DWWA 2014, representing just 0.22% of the 15,007 wines tasted by 224 specialist judges from around the world, and including 66 Masters of Wine and 18 Master Sommeliers.

Judges awarded 10,455 medals in total at this year's awards, including 125 regional trophies, 454 gold medals, 2,003 silver, 4,378 bronze and 3,620 commended. Regional Trophies are chosen from gold medal winners in a particular region and then compete for International Trophies in specific categories defined by wine style.

Full results and details of the awards see: http://www.decanter.com/dwwa

• The DWWA launched in 2004, now celebrating 11 years as the world's leading wine competition.
• Wine entries are organised for tasting by country, region, colour, grape, style, vintage, and price, to ensure they are judged against their peers.
• Wines awarded Gold or Silver are re-tasted by the Regional Chair.
• Gold wines are re-tasted by members of the region's panel.

For more information please contact: Clementine Communications - +44-(0)20-7471-8730, Clemence de Crecy - clemence@clementinecom.com