2026 National Wine Awards of Canada

The 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada wrapped up in Niagara, Ontario on June 18th. In total, 21 judges from across Canada, including one judge from California and one from England, tasted 1,800 entries from 250 Canadian wineries across the country.

After 26 years, the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada is the benchmark for Canadian wine competitions and is considered by our judges to be among the best-run competitions in the world. It takes a village (33 volunteers) to put on the awards each year, and it begins with a two-day, detailed, choreographed setup in the all-important back room, where some 1,800 entries are placed and labeled at their respective tables in their flights, in the order they will be served over the first three days.

Once on the table, every wine label is checked against a flight sheet printout, and each bottle is tagged with a flight number and an order number to ensure it goes to the right panel, in the right order, at the right temperature, and at the right time. The meticulous two-day setup often takes longer than most competitions take from start to finish. The wines are served in high-quality glassware, each tagged with the flight number and its position in the flight. It’s the final check before any wine is tasted blind.

Over the next five days, 21 highly experienced judges — 10 women and 11 men — worked in panels of three or four to taste every wine. Once the first round was complete, we began again, building second-round flights with 25 to 30 percent of the top-scoring wines, which were then re-tasted over two days by panels of five judges. By the end, each judge assessed more than 400 wines, and while more than 9,000 glasses were washed and polished, only six were broken.

We hope you enjoy the following category round-ups as much as we did tasting all the medal-winning wines.

Date		Category
July 16	–	Sparkling
July 17	–	Orange, Rosé & Pinot Gris/Grigio
July 20	–	Red Blends & White Blends
July 21	–	Library Wines
July 22	–	Gamay, Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
July 23	–	Other Red & White Single Varieties, Gewürztraminer & Viognier
July 24	–	Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah & Riesling
July 27	–	Cider, Fruit Wine, Fortified, Icewine & Late Harvest, Maple wine, Mead and Non-Fruit Wine
July 28	–	Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec & No/Low Alcohol
July 29	–	Platinums
July 30	–	Best Performing Small Winery & Top 10 Small Wineries
July 31	–	Winery of the Year and Top 25 Wineries, Top 10 Ontario Wineries, Top 10 BC Wineries