Garner gains top prize at Ontario Wine Awards

Perhaps the biggest smile of the night could be found on Emma Garner’s face after she was named winemaker of the year at the Ontario Wine Awards.

Thirty Bench Wine Makers from Beamsville took home three gold and three silver awards, along with the prestigious title for Garner.

She attended the ceremony expecting to have a nice dinner and see some of her colleagues — but that’s before she was knocked off guard by the recognition.

“I knew we had done well through the evening,” she said. “But I still always see the wine- maker of the year as ‘those guys over there.’”

The 36-year-old native of Fergus Ont. is modest about the award.

“I didn’t view myself falling into that category. It was a really special moment,” she said.

“Thinking about it now, I should have said a few words. But I was gobsmacked. I’ve never had that experience in my life.

“It’s a great accolade,” said Garner. “And it’s a testament to what we can do here. What we can do in Ontario, moving forward and promoting these wines.”

Garner has been with the Peller family since 2002, starting out at Hillebrand and winemaker J.L.Groux. She credits him with a

lot of her inspiration.

“He’s always looking for more answers. The more you find out about wine, the more you realize you don’t know,” she said.

Since 2009, Garner has been the winemaker at Thirty Bench, but she is also involved in other parts of Andrew Peller Limited.

She was really pleased with the success of the 2013 Riesling and said it was nice to see it win right off the bat.

“For a wine that’s $ 18.95, it over-delivers exceptionally,” she said.

Niagara wines and wineries dominated the night, taking home gold in 22 of 25 categories at the awards ceremony held earlier this month at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Since the inception in 1995 by celebrity wine writer Tony Aspler, the awards strive to raise the profile of VQA wines in the province, nationally and internationally.

Judges tasted nearly 500 submissions from 79 wineries throughout the province. Several other Niagara wineries were multi-award winners, including Konzelmann Estates, Inniskillin and Flat Rock Cellars to name a few.

For a full list of award winners, see our website.

It’s a great accolade. And it’s a testament to what we can do here. What we can do in Ontario, moving

forward and promoting these wines.”