Nominations are being accepted for the Cuvée Vineyard of Excellence Award. The award will be presented at the Cuvée Grand Tasting where the Ontario wine industry showcases the best Ontario VQA wines. It is in that same spirit we take the opportunity to recognize a grower who promotes excellence in their vineyard practices.
Nominations OPEN: July 22, 2019
Nominations CLOSE: August 6, 2019
Nomination Guidelines:
- Application/Nominations are limited to the first ten (10) nominees.
- The Nominator must NOT be an immediate family relative of the nominee.
- No nominations by employee or employer of nominee.
- Nominator is not made public only to the nominee and judges.
- The Nominator can only put forward one Nominee in any given year and should only nominate within the specified “Award Category” of that year (see Award Category specified).
- The Nominee must be a member of the Grape Growers of Ontario.
- The award winner will be notified by the CCOVI and receive two complementary tickets to attend the Cuvée Grand Tasting to accept the award. CCOVI will contact the award recipient with further details.
Award Categories:
- One (1) award will be given annually on a rotating basis: Cuvée 2019 Award Category is Best RED Vinifera
Selection Criteria:
- Only one (1) block may be nominated per grower/owner each year. One (1) block is considered to be a minimum of 0.5 contiguous hectare within a business that is six (6) commercial hectares (minimum) in size.
- Vineyard management must be under direction of the nominee or direct employee of the nominee (no vineyards custom managed by a 3rd party paid strictly to manage the vineyard will be allowed – however true share cropping agreements are acceptable).
Evaluation Process:
- Vineyard Evaluation will take place three times. The Grower Nominee will not know the specific date for Site Visits One and Two but will be contacted prior to the visit for permission and safety reasons. The Nominee must notify the Evaluation Team coordinator at least 3 days prior to harvest to allow for judging of Site Visit #3 – Harvest Evaluation. Failure to notify the Evaluation Team Coordinator will void the applicant from the competition.
Vineyard Evaluation Procedure Process:
- Site Visit #1 – Confirmation and “Tagging”. After the Grower Nominee has been confirmed the one hectare vineyard lot will be mapped and “tagged” by the evaluation team in accordance with the nominee. The Evaluation Team will assess the vineyard cultural practices employed using a Cultural Management Scorecard (CMS). Timeline: Before the end of July or beginning of August.
- Site Visit #2 – Veraison Evaluation. Two scorecards will assess the vineyard – 1) Vineyard Scorecard and 2) CMS. Evaluation will respect cultivar specific attributes that will allow for cross cultivar comparisons. Timeline: late August to early September.
- Site Visit #3 – Harvest Evaluation. The third evaluation will take place three days prior to harvest (based on nominees notification to the Evaluation Team). It will assess crop balance, fruit exposure and fruit integrity. A berry sample will be taken at this time for fruit quality evaluation using grape maturity assessment through berry sensory analysis. An analysis of soluble solids will also be completed to ensure fruit meets the minimum VQA standards. VA concentrations will only be determined if there is a question of fruit integrity. All vineyards will be evaluated using a statistically sound sampling pattern.
Each phase within the evaluation process will use numerical scorecards – Scores will be tabulated by CCOVI.
Evaluation Team:
- A minimum of three (3) experts judges from, or affiliated with, the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University. Judges can include: CCOVI researchers, Department of Biological Sciences faculty members, lecturers or experienced staff, CCOVI Fellows and CCOVI Professional Affiliates. One team member must be a Viticulturalist who can perform any analyses associated with Site Visit #3.
- A maximum of three (3) senior level or graduate Oenology & Viticulture students from Brock University (as CCOVI is dedicated to academic training and research this award adjudication should be looked upon as a valuable learning experience, however, the student scoring will not be weighted in as part of final evaluation.)
