A Pinot sweep has propelled South East Kelowna's SpearHead to 'winery of the year' and 'best performing small winery' wins at the 2024 WineAlign National Wine Awards.
"They notched unparalleled success in a single category (Pinot Noir) in the (23-year) history of these awards," pointed out Vancouver-based judge DJ Kearney.
"(SpearHead won) a total of eight medals for their Pinots, including three platinum, one gold, a trio of silvers and a bronze."
In fact, SpearHead snagged a medal for almost every Pinot Noir it makes.
The unprecedented three platinum medals were enough to be crowned 'winery of the year' without even considering the other gold, silver and bronze winning Pinots, two additional silvers for SpearHead's 2022 Clone 95 Chardonnay and 2022 Pinot Gris and a pair of bronze for the 2023 Gamay Rose and 2022 Riesling.
Because SpearHead produces less than 10,000 cases annually, the medal haul was also more than enough to pick up 'best performing small winery' honours for the third consecutive year.
All this is ultra-impressive considering this is the prestigious national awards and 230 wineries from across Canada submitted more than 1,800 wines to be judged.
"As a judge who's been part of the WineAlign panel for over two decades, I can confirm two things," continued Kearney.
"SpearHead wines reflect the people behind them who are generous of spirit and rich with experience and that their success is no accident."
Much of that credit goes to winemaker and general manager Grant Stanley, a dual citizen of New Zealand and Canada.
He started his career in New Zealand's Marlborough region, which may be best known for Sauvignon Blanc, but also has a storied Pinot Noir history.
Stanley moved to the Okanagan in 2003, worked at Quails' Gate in West Kelowna producing excellent Pinot Noirs and came to SpearHead in 2017.
"Our commitment to staying small and focused on Pinot Noir is paying off," said Stanley.
"Many producers I admire worldwide limit their production to concentrate on quality over quantity."
SpearHead was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife team Bill and Marina Knutson.
"Our ambition has been to create a nationally recognized winery for premium wine, especially Pinot Noir," said Bill.
"Winning 'winery of the year' at the 2024 National Wine Awards is a great honour and affirms our progress. This success is thanks to our dedicated team, led by Grant Stanley."
The wins are expected to fuel sales of the award-winning wines, especially the platinum Pinots.
Some of the wines are only available to SpearHead's wine club members, so, as a result, club memberships are also expected to spike.
SpearHead's medal haul:
- Platinum: 2022 Club Consensus Pinot Noir ($37)
- Platinum: 2022 Pommard Clone Pinot Noir ($46)
- Platinum: 2022 Saddle Block Pinot Noir ($39)
- Gold: 2021 Golden Retreat Pinot Noir ($39)
- Silver: 2021 Club Consensus Pinot Noir ($37)
- Silver: 2021 Cuvee Pinot Noir ($46)
- Silver: 2022 Braided Hill Pinot Noir ($39)
- Silver: 2022 Clone 95 Chardonnay ($36)
- Silver: 2022 Pinot Gris ($24)
- Bronze: 2023 Gamay Rose ($27)
- Bronze: 2022 Riesling ($28)
- Bronze: 2021 Saddle Block Pinot Noir ($39)
