NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Inniskillin wins 'wine industry's world cup'
at Vinitaly 2009
Inniskillin, producer famed Icewine, has captured the top award at Vinitaly's
17th International Wine Competition: The Premio Speciale Gran Vinitaly
2009.
April 1, Niagara on the Lake, Ont. –
Inniskillin, producer famed Icewine, has captured the top award at Vinitaly's
17th International Wine Competition: "The Premio Speciale Gran Vinitaly
2009".
"This is a huge win, on par with when
Inniskillin's Vidal Icewine won a Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo in Bordeaux
in 1991," says Donald Ziraldo, Inniskillin co-founder. "This award is
receiving lots of attention in Europe, which really helps put Niagara and the
Canadian wine industry on the world map.”
To qualify for the "The Premio
Speciale Gran Vinitaly 2009" award the winery must have received the
highest score based upon two gold medals obtained in two different categories.
The two categories were Sparkling Wines and Sweet Wines, and the gold-winning
wines are the Inniskillin 2006 Sparkling Vidal Icewine and the Inniskillin 2006
Vidal Gold Oak Aged Icewine.
Three additional Inniskillin wines received
a "Gran Menzione" award: the Inniskillin 2007 Riesling Icewine, the
Inniskillin 2007 Vidal Icewine and the Inniskillin 2007 Montague Vineyard
Chardonnay.
Known as the "world cup" among
global wine competitions, the Vinitaly wine competition has become a landmark
for such competitions on an international scale, in part because it has always
been extremely selective. Each year, medals are awarded to only three per cent
of the wines entered in the challenge. Out of 3,539 entries, only 113 medals
will be handed out this year.
This includes 34 countries participating,
judged by an international panel of 105 judges. The win of "The Premio
Speciale Gran Vinitaly 2009" places Inniskillin among past winners
including Banfi of Italy, Divino Nordheim of Germany, and Wyndham Estate of Australia.
Inniskillin Icewine is harvested at the
pinnacle of Canada's crisp winter; the grapes are left to freeze on the vine
and picked when the temperature drops to -10 degrees C. The finished wine is
intense, sweet and luscious, yet balanced with brilliant acidity, creating a
unique sensation on the palate. Renowned for fruit flavours that range from
mango and peach to lychee, Icewine is truly a natural wonder, representing
extreme winemaking at its best.
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