The 2024 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada were recently announced, with Kelowna's SpearHead Winery taking home top honours as Best Performing Small Winery of the Year and Winery of the Year. Joining SpearHead on the list of Top 25 Wineries in Canada are Quails' Gate Estate Winery, which secured the number six spot, and CedarCreek Estate Winery, which came in at number 17.
Building on its previous success at the awards—the winery was awarded Best Performing Small Winery of the Year in 2022—SpearHead also made history this year by taking home seven medals in a single category (Pinot Noir), including three platinum, one gold, a trio of silvers, and a bronze. About half of the 5,000-6,000 cases of wine produced by SpearHead each year is Pinot Noir.
“With this project, we have been focussed on an ambition to create a winery that would become nationally recognized for its premium wine production, particularly Pinot Noir," said SpearHead co-owner, Bill Knutson. "Being named ‘Winery of the Year’ at the 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada is an achievement that is a great honour and one that allows us to feel we have had some success in the pursuit of our goal."
Image credit: Kylie Mae
"As a judge who’s been part of the WineAlign panel for over two decades, I can confirm two things: SpearHead wines reflect the people behind them who are generous of spirit and rich with experience, and their success is no accident," asserts veteran judge, DJ Kearney.
This is the second time in three years that a Kelowna winery has been crowned Winery of the Year, as CedarCreek Estate Winery took home the honour in 2022.
Numerous other wineries from Kelowna and the Central Okanagan also took home medals in the competition—a complete list of winners in each category can be found here.
Please join us in congratulating all the award winners from our region who continue to craft some of the world's most delicious and decorated wines!
About the National Wine Awards of Canada
The National Wine Awards of Canada were founded by David Lawrason and Anthony Gismondi. During the annual competition, judges from around the country complete blind tastings of wines in numerous categories, ultimately deciding the winners in each category, which leads to the Top 25 Wineries in Canada list, as well as Winery of the Year and Best Performing Small Winery.
