The Ontario wine Oscars were announced Friday night and its easy to encapsulate them by saying that the big winner was Creekside, taking home four awards; while both Tawse and Hillebrand walked away with two each.  This year they added a new wrinkle to the format of the presentation, by announcing the silver and bronze medal finishers in some categories; this elicited a few groans from the audience as favorites just missed the mark.  There were also some ties along the way, like the inevitable Riesling tie (there's just so much made in Ontario that this is bound to happen) between Tawse 2007 Sketches of Niagara and Legends 2003 Reserve (thinking about it I think this is a greater coup for Legends, putting in an the aged wine up against all those fresh and fruity ones took guts - good for them).  Peninsula Ridge, tied with themselves for best Sauvignon Blanc (only thing worse than that would be to beat yourself); and the best Limited Edition White award was shared between Cattail (2007 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay) and Creekside (2007 Reserve Viognier).  I seem to have a good track record for picking winners, going 9 or 16 with my choices from the Cuvee Media Pre-Tasting.  Considering there were multiple winners and not all the winning wines were up for tasting that day, I think that’s pretty good score ... if you wish to check up on me then just click on through to my picks, I've updated the posting ... (Read more)

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