Poplar Grove Wins Big at London Wine Competition
At the 4th annual London Wine Competition which took place in London, England, on March 15, 2020, Poplar Grove was awarded gold medals for all four of the red wines Poplar Grove submitted to the competition. The Poplar Grove Cabernet Franc (93pts), Poplar Grove Syrah (92pts), Poplar Grove Legacy (91pts) and the Poplar Grove Merlot (90pts) were all at the top of the podium, which is the ultimate seal of approval in the global wine industry.
“From the beginning we were convinced that the Okanagan Valley would be internationally recognized as a premium wine region. We have focused on sustainable farming, understanding what our vineyards are capable of and practicing winemaking that minimizes intervention to show the true quality of our vineyards. This has allowed us to make beautiful wines, honest to the vintage they were made in. I am so proud of our winemaking team, led by Stefan Arnason, our consultant Alain Sutre, and our farming team led by my sons, Andrew and Matthew.” said Tony Holler, Owner and President of Poplar Grove.
The competition judges wines in three key areas: quality, value for money and package and design. According to Sid Patel, CEO of The Beverage Trade Network, “Consumers want to enjoy an ‘experience’ from a bottle of wine, it is much more than an alcoholic commodity. That’s why the Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and experienced traders judging at the 2020 London Wine Competition look at wines the way wine drinkers do. Yes, they analyze quality professionally; they are then asked to judge and award marks based on value for money and appearance.”
- Gold medal 93 points – 2016 Cabernet Franc
- Gold medal 92 points – 2016 Syrah
- Gold medal 91 points – 2015 Legacy
- Gold medal 90 points – 2016 Merlot
- Silver medal 85 points – 2018 Pinot Gris
In today’s competitive market, it is not enough to just provide good wine. Wine lovers expect it to look good and be great value for money. That’s why we are extremely proud that our wines scored so highly at the 2020 London Wine Competition. Winning these awards is particularly important to us because it not only shows that we are making the types of wines that wine drinkers actually want to buy and enjoy, but also that we are making the types of wines that the trade wants to include on their lists.
All wines that won Gold Medals are the current release wines that are available for purchase from the winery, at poplargrove.ca and at fine restaurants and retail stores throughout Canada. Our wines are distributed in the USA by Kascadia Wine Merchants.