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Morning Bay wins medal at New York wine competition

Morning Bay Vineyards & Estate Winery on Pender Island has won another medal. This time, against top wineries from all over the United States and Canada, Morning Bay’s 2005 Reserve Merlot was awarded a bronze medal at the 2008 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

The New York-based festival is one of the largest and most prestigious wine competitions in the United States. This was the first time the Pender Island winery has entered the Finger Lakes competition.

First opened in 2005, Morning Bay makes wines from grapes it grows on its terraced oceanfront vineyard on Pender Island, and from grapes custom-grown for the winery on some of the Okanagan Valley’s best vineyards. The wines are barrel-aged in Morning Bay’s concrete “cave” on Pender Island.

Morning Bay’s Reserve Merlot is grown exclusively for Morning Bay by Inkameep Vineyards, the Osoyoos Indian Band’s 265-acre vineyard east of Oliver in the Okanagan Valley. Morning Bay’s merlot comes from Z-Block, a tiny gravel knoll at the back of the vineyard. The fruit from Z-Block has provided the wine for Morning Bay’s Reserve Merlot since 2002. Our 2004 Reserve Merlot won a bronze medal at the 2007 Canadian Wine Awards and critical acclaim from wine writers such as Sid Cross and John Schreiner.

“We are very fortunate to have access to such fabulous fruit,” said owner/winemaker Keith Watt. “ Z-Block is clearly one of the premium fruit blocks in the Okanagan Valley, and manager Sam Baptiste and all the staff at Inkameep do a fabulous job of growing that fruit every year. ”

The 2005 Reserve was the first release made completely by winemaking consultant Tilman Hainle. More structured and complex than previous releases, the 2005 Reserve Merlot is built for a little more aging than previous releases. Two years aging in used French barriques concentrated the rich plum and chocolate palate of this year’s release. Bottled in April, the wine is already showing surprising flavours and aromatics. “It should have very lively bottle life,” Hainle said.

Morning Bay’s first-ever Pender Island release wins Silver Medal

The first commercial wine made from grapes grown on Pender Island has won a silver medal at the 2008 All-Canadian Wine Championships. Morning Bay Vineyard and Estate Winery’s 2006 Gewurztraminer-Riesling won a silver in the vinifera blends category of the competition. The results were announced recently (http://www.canadianwinetrail.com/en/awardWinners/2008-merit.html). The gewurztraminer and riesling vines that produced this wine were planted in the fall of 2002, and are part of the first commercial vineyard ever planted on Pender Island. The 2006 vintage was the first vintage from Morning Bay’s Mount Menzies Vineyard.

“This bodes tremendously for wines from Pender Island,” says Morning Bay winemaker and co-owner Keith Watt. “The crisp fresh flavours that naturally come from these soils give us wines that pair beautifully with the seafoods that come from our seas.”

As news of the silver medal arrived, another 7500 grapevines also arrived on Pender for planting at Clam Bay Farm, another vineyard operation which will be growing grapes for Morning Bay. Ortega, ziegerrebbe and pinot noir vines will begin producing fruit in 2010, which will more than double the production of wine from Pender Island vineyards. “The future for crisp aromatic whites and roses on Pender Island is very exciting,” Watt said.

Morning Bay’s 2005 Reserve Merlot Awarded a Bronze Medal

Competing against top wineries from all over the United States, Canada and Europe at the 2008 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, Morning Bay’s 2005 Reserve Merlot captured a Bronze Medal. The New York-based festival is one of the largest and most prestigious wine competitions in the United States. This was the first time we have entered the Finger Lakes competition. Morning Bay’s Reserve Merlot has been grown exclusively for us by Inkameep Vineyards, the Osoyoos Indian Band’s 265-acre vineyard east of Oliver in the Okanagan Valley since 2002. It was aged two years in our concrete “cav” on Pender Island. Our 2004 Reserve Merlot won a bronze medal at the 2007 Canadian Wine Awards and critical acclaim from wine writers such as Sid Cross and John Schreiner. Morning Bay’s winemaking consultant is Tilman Hainle. Morning Bay 2004 Reserve Merlot wins Bronze at 2007 Canadian Wine Awards

Well we all knew it was great, but now the rest of the country does too. In the 2007 Canadian Wine Awards, Morning Bay's 2004 Inkameep Vineyards Reserve Merlot won a bronze medal, a first for Morning Bay, putting our reserve among Canada's most distinguished fine red wines.

In a competition in which no gold medal was awarded, Morning Bay's Reserve placed in good company: Jackson-Triggs' Proprietor's Grand Reserve, Mission Hill's Select Lot Collection, and NK'Mip Cellars all won bronze in the same category.

"We're thankful to the great winemakers who contributed to this wine: Eric von Krosigk and Tilman Hainle, and to a great grape grower, Sam Baptiste who runs Inkameep Vineyards. And mostly we're thankful for this wine's many fans who told us how much they enjoyed it,” said winery owners Barb Reid and Keith Watt.

Morning Bay products are now available at private wine stores and fine restaurants throughout Victoria and Vancouver Island. Watch for us on the menus at your favourite restaurant. Or order direct from the winery by e-mail: info@morningbay.ca

Our BC wines are hand made with loving care from Morning Bay's terraced vineyard and winery on North Pender Island in the sparkling southern Gulf Islands of BC. In the lee of the Olympic Peninsula rainshadow, Pender basks in a glorious mediterranean summer, with long stretches of dry, sunny weather.

With your wine purchase, you'll be getting a superior hand made product produced with careful applications of water and nutrients. Our wine grapes ripen slowly and develop complex flavours that will delight any wine lovers palate. Hand-picked in late fall, grapes retain crisp aromatics while developing long, elegant flavours.

Morning Bay products are now available at private wine stores and fine restaurants throughout British Columbia or Alberta. Watch for us on the menus at your favourite restaurant. Or order direct from the winery by e-mail: info@morningbay.ca

You can buy our BC wines online, please click here to enter and purchase wines from our online wine store. Or, come for a free tour of our terraced vineyard on Pender Island - come just for the visit, or plan to hold your special event in our vineyard or barrel cellar.