This section is by PBY Capital.

Szabo on wine: Ten compelling (non-political) reasons to drink Canadian 

As domestic sales surge, Canada’s Top 10 wineries and their award-winning wines merit far more than a patriotic nod

  • Published
Photo of Mission Hill Family Estate, in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, which took home Winery of the Year honours at the 2025 WineAlign National Wines Awards of Canada. Mission Hill tops the list of sommelier John Szabo's Ten Best Wineries in Canada.
Mission Hill Family Estate, in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, took home Winery of the Year honours at the 2025 WineAlign National Wines Awards of Canada

There has been a vocal upwelling of support for Canadian-grown or -made products in the past eight months, spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty and his administration’s tariff war. Most provinces responded, somewhat symbolically, by pulling American wine and spirits from government-run liquor store shelves. And often, those gaps were filled with Canadian products. 

Story continues below

Historically, I’d say Canadians haven’t generally been too bothered about waving the flag, rather more quietly proud than bombastically so, and especially circumspect in their views on, and purchases of, Canadian wines.

Photo of John Szabo, Master Sommelier
John Szabo

But what I’ve seen and heard this year is pretty much unprecedented, a galvanizing of national sentiment. In recent conversations, winemakers have been very upbeat about the opportunity that Trump’s questionable economics has presented for their wines and anecdotally report an increase in sales through all channels, including the LCBO. 

One small Niagara winery owner told me that sales to the LCBO had grown from about 200 cases total last year to already almost 2,000 cases in just the first three quarters of this year—a massive increase. And while U.S. wines will be back sooner or later, many are confident that Canadian wines will have permanently carved out more retail territory by then, winning over former skeptics with their quality, and that some significant percentage of consumers won’t go back to the same old same old U.S. products they purchased before.

Do LCBO statistics support this view? It turns out that they do. And it seems that momentum is gathering, not tapering off.

Sales of Ontario red wines on the LCBO general list (just under 200 wines) were up 96.6 per cent over the six months up to late July, compared to the same period last year, and up 148.5 per cent in September compared to last year.

For the nearly 250 white wines on the list, sales were up 82.8 per cent and 140.3 per cent respectively over the same periods. And in Vintages, the premium segment of LCBO offerings, the story is even more compelling: reds—+164.3 per cent and +285.3 per cent. And whites—+105per cent and +152.2 per cent. Those are impressive numbers.

Sales for B.C. red wines in Vintages have been equally remarkable, even if from a much smaller base, up 192.5 per cent over six months and 345.1 per cent September. Only B.C. white wines show a decline in sales over the same periods, though this can be explained by the short crop in 2024, which has yet to be reflected in generally later-released red wines.

Story continues below

So, Canadians, glad you’ve discovered just how far the Canadian wine industry has come in barely half a century. There really has never been a better time to drink local (while waving a flag or not).

The Gold Standard: The WineAlign National Wines Awards of Canada

If you’ve yet to discover the quality of Canadian wines, here’s a short cut to aid you on your journey: a list of the top 10 wineries from the latest WineAlign National Wines Awards of Canada competition. 

2025 marked the 25th edition of the NWACs, as they’re referred to in the industry, the largest competition of its kind in the country and the most rigorously and fairly run—I know, because I’ve participated in 22 of them.

Each year a coterie of about two dozen of the most respected palates and industry experts are convened for five days, this year in Penticton, B.C. from June 21-25, to taste through almost 2,000 wines and ciders from across the country. The best wines, judged over multiple rounds and by several panels, are awarded with bronze, silver and gold medals, and in the case of just the top one per cent of entries, a highly coveted platinum medal. 

Beyond medals for individual wines, each year WineAlign publishes a list of the Top 25 wineries in Canada, based on the aggregate performance of their entries. The rankings are based on the total raw scores (out of 100 points) of each winery’s Top 5 wines, plus the weighted value of any platinum, gold, silver and bronze medals they received. It’s a safe bet than any of the wines produced by one of these top-ranked wineries will deliver pleasure. 

You can view all the results here. But without further ado, below are the Top 10 Canadian Wineries of 2025 as published by WineAlign.com, starting with the Winery of the Year.

Top 10 Canadian Wineries 2025

Winery of the Year: Mission Hill Family Estate, British Columbia

The Okanagan hilltop winery with the stunning vistas has returned to the top of the heap once again. It first happened when Mission Hill Family Estate took Winery of the Year honours at the inaugural awards in 2001 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Twenty-five years later, they grabbed the ring for the sixth time, confirming a consistent commitment to excellence.

Story continues below

This year, Mission Hill entered 11 top-tier wines, earning two platinum medals, five golds and one silver. The 2022 Perpetua Chardonnay grabbed one of the platinum medals. It is a wine that has been on an upward trajectory for several years now under a program that has refined the body, increased the acidity and generally tightened up the wine. The second platinum medal was awarded to the 2022 Terroir Collection Cabernet Franc, recognized for consistently strong performances as the viticulture and winemaking teams have identified and cultivated prime locations throughout the Okanagan.

2. Laughing Stock Vineyards, British Columbia

(Read more: Announcing the Best Performing Small Winery of the Year.)

3. Meyer Family Vineyards, British Columbia

4. SpearHead Winery, British Columbia

5. The Organized Crime Winery, Ontario

6. Quail’s Gate Estate Winery, British Columbia

7. Peller Estates, Ontario

8.  Fielding Estate Winery, Ontario

9. Trius Winery, Ontario

10. Tantalus Vineyards, British Columbia

John Szabo is Canada’s first Master Sommelier and one of the best-known Canadian voices in wine. He’s a principal critic for WineAlign.com, where you’ll find all his latest articles, reviews and wine recommendations, and Curator-in-Chief for the WineAlign Exchange, which offers members a curated case of fine wine quarterly. Follow his adventures on Instagram @johnszaboms and Facebook.

The Canadian Family Offices newsletter comes out on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in stories about Canadian enterprising families, family offices and the professionals who work with them, but like your content aggregated, you can sign up for our free newsletter here.

Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.