Results from the 2025 Nationals – Riesling
Announcing the Results from the 2025 National Wine Awards of Canada
The 2025 Nationals took place in Penticton from June 21st to 25th. Today, we are pleased to announce the winners in the Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah/Shiraz categories. Category results will be rolling out throughout the rest of July, concluding with the Winery of the Year announcement on August 1st. We hope that you will stay tuned to follow the results!
Riesling
Category Overview by Judge John Szabo, MS
No surprise in 2025: riesling was yet again among the strongest categories at the 2025 National Wine Awards. Though total entries were slightly down over previous years – 93 – for reasons related to reduced national production and surely not winemakers’ interest in the variety, the medal count was equal to its historic highs. Fully 72 wines earned a medal, that’s nearly 80% of entries, reflecting the remarkable quality and consistency of the grape across both Ontario and B.C. And of these, four wines merited Platinum, along with 18 Golds and 29 Silvers, a very serious medal haul indeed.
It’s also no surprise to see so many familiar names among the winners. Special mention should be made of riesling arch-specialist Emma Garner from Thirty Bench on the Beamsville Bench in the Niagara Peninsula, who earned her third NWAC platinum in a row, an unprecedented feat, this year for the 2022 Small Lot Riesling Triangle Vineyard, as well as gold for the 2022 Small Lot Riesling Wild Cask. The previous two NWAC editions in 2024 and 2023 saw back-to-back platinums for the Small Lot Riesling Wood Post Vineyard (a silver medalist this year). And looking further back to 2022 and 2021, three Small Lot rieslings, The Wood Post, Steel Post and Triangle Vineyards, all earned gold in both editions. This surely makes the Small Lot Riesling series the most awarded in Canadian history and cements the Beamsville Bench as grand cru riesling territory. And, at $32.80 per bottle, these are also among the best values in the country. It’s worth buying a bottle of all four wines in the series for your own masterclass on Canadian riesling and horizontal discovery of these top terroirs.
Other ultra-consistent producers over the years include BC’s CedarCreek (a platinum, gold and silver in 2025), Tantalus (a gold and two silvers), Fort Berens (a gold and three silvers) and Four Shadows.
Niagara’s most dependable include Tawse (two golds and three silvers), Redstone, Trius (especially the Ghost Creek bottling, platinum again this year), Peller Estates (a platinum), Megalomaniac (gold and bronze) as well as the improbably inexpensive rieslings from Vieni Estates, earning another gold this year for their $17.95 semi-dry riesling.
Three cheers for Canadian Riesling!
And the winners are…
CedarCreek 2022 Aspect Collection Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Peller Estates 2023 Signature Series Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Thirty Bench 2022 Small Lot Riesling Triangle Vineyard, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Trius 2023 Showcase Riesling Ghost Creek, Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
50th Parallel 2022 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
CedarCreek 2022 Platinum Riesling South Kelowna Slopes, South Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Fort Berens 2024 Riesling, Lillooet, British Columbia
Four Shadows Winery 2024 Riesling Classic, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia Jackson-Triggs Niagara 2023 Grand Reserve Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
JoieFarm 2023 En Famille Riesling Whitfield Vineyard, Summerland Lakefront, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Megalomaniac 2023 Narcissist Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
O’Rourke Family Estate 2022 The Georgian Lady Riesling, Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Orofino 2023 Hendsbee Vineyard Clone 21B Riesling , Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Peak Cellars 2023 Riesling, Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Priest Creek Family Estate Winery 2022 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate Winery 2024 Continuum Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Redstone Winery 2023 Limestone Vineyard Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Tantalus Vineyards 2022 Den’s Block Old Vines Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2022 Quarry Road Riesling, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2023 Quarry Road Riesling, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Thirty Bench 2022 Small Lot Riesling Wild Cask, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Vieni Estates 2023 Semi Dry Riesling, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Apara Winery 2022 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bartier Bros. 2022 Riesling, Thompson, British Columbia
Byland 2024 Riesling, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
CedarCreek 2023 Platinum Naramata Bench Riesling, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Clos sans Frontieres 2023 Riesling, Quebec
Fielding 2023 Riesling Estate Bottled, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Fielding 2023 Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Fort Berens 2022 Reserve Riesling Wild Ferment, Lillooet, British Columbia
Fort Berens 2023 Reserve Riesling Wild Ferment, Lillooet, British Columbia
Fort Berens 2023 Riesling, British Columbia
Inniskillin 2023 Reserve Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
La Cantina Vallée d’Oka Riesling 2024, Quebec
Lakeview Wine Co. 2023 EastDell Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Planters Ridge 2024 Riesling, Nova Scotia
Ravine Vineyard 2023 Small Batch Riesling, Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
SpearHead 2022 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Storm Haven 2023 Block 2 Riesling, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Storm Haven 2023 Gibson-Block 3 Riesling, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Storm Haven 2023 Gold Digger Riesling, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tantalus Vineyards 2022 Old Vines Riesling, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia Tantalus Vineyards 2024 Riesling, Ontario
Tawse 2022 Limestone Ridge Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2022 Sketches Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2023 Estate Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
The Organized Crime 2024 Riesling, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Thirty Bench 2022 Small Lot Riesling Wood Post Vineyard, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Three Dog Winery 2023 Foxcroft Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Three Sisters Winery 2023 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Upper Bench Estate Winery 2023 Riesling, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Van Westen 2023 Viscous, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Charles Baker Wines 2022 Riesling Picone Vineyard, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Dim Wine Co. 2020 Edgewater Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Ex Nihilo Vineyards 2022 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Fielding 2022 Lot No. 17 Riesling, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Flat Rock Cellars 2024 Foundation Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Flat Rock Cellars 2024 Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Henry of Pelham 2024 Dry River Estate Riesling, Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Henry of Pelham 2024 Speck Family Reserve Riesling, Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Hidden Bench 2022 Riesling, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Huff Estates 2023 Day Tripping Riesling, Ontario
Lightning Rock Winery 2023 Riesling Tony’s Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lunessence 2023 Estate Single Vineyard Riesling, Summerland Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Marynissen Estates 2024 Heritage Riesling Picone Vineyard, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Megalomaniac N/V Homegrown Riesling, Ontario
Monte Creek Winery 2024 Living Land Riesling, Thompson, British Columbia
Ravine Vineyard 2023 Patricia’s Block Riesling, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Riverview Cellars 2023 Angelina’s Reserve Riesling – East Block, Niagara River, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
The View 2023 Riesling, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Three Dog Winery 2024 Reiki Riesling, Ontario
Township 7 2022 Benchmark Series Riesling Fool’s Gold, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Two Sisters Vineyards 2022 Riesling, Niagara River, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
NWAC 2025 Sponsors:
