Susan and Jeff Vandermolen, co-owners of the Beaufort Vineyard & Estate Winery have been awarded 14 medals in the past week from three major wine competitions including the International Wine Challenge (IWC), renowned as the world’s most prestigious and influential independent wine competition.
Only 13 Canadian wineries were honoured at the important international competition where Beaufort Winery was awarded a bronze medal (85-89 points) for their 2009 Siegerrebe and commended (80-84 points) for their 2009 Ortega. They were also recognized at two other major competitions, receiving nine medals from the North West Wine Summit in Oregon and two from the All Canadian Wine Championship.
“We are incredibly happy that the wines showed well,” said winemaker and co-owner Susan Vandermolen. “In our corporate lives, we used to set ‘stretch targets’ and winning awards in a European wine competition is a major accomplishment for us.”
Together, the Vandermolens have more than 27 years of wine making experience but are only in their third year of production at Beaufort Winery, which they initiated in 2006, producing their first wines in 2007.
“We’re confident that we have proven ourselves as good winemakers, but now we feel we’ve proven the vineyard, by producing high-quality, now globally recognized, wines from grapes grown on our estate,” said Jeff Vandermolen. “We owe many thanks to the people in the Comox Valley, and on Vancouver Island, who truly support local producers and businesses like ourselves.”
The Beaufort Winery is focused on producing high quality, small-lot, handcrafted wines, at a reasonable price. Most of the 2000 cases of wine produced annually at Beaufort Winery are sold directly to customers at the winery or via an online ordering system. The remainder are sold to Vancouver Island restaurants and eco-lodges.
Grapes from the Beaufort vineyard, planted in 2007, were used for the first time in 2009 wines and will ultimately make up 65 per cent of the grapes used in their winemaking. The rest of their grapes come from fellow growers on Vancouver Island and in the Okanogan Valley.
“These awards are a milestone for the Comox Valley, firmly establishing it as a new and exciting grape growing region,” said John Watson, executive director, Comox Valley Economic Development. “We’re extremely fortunate to have producers like Beaufort here making some of the highest quality wines, spirits and beer products in the world.”
The Comox Valley is attracting agricultural investment from people like the Vandermolens because of the ideal growing conditions, reasonably priced land, proximity to larger markets and demand for locally produced niche products. These significant agricultural opportunities have resulted in the Comox Valley becoming a burgeoning food and beverage region.
Beaufort Winery is open to the public for most Fridays and Saturdays from May to August. For more information visit www.beaufortwines.ca, send an email to beaufortwines@shaw.ca or call Susan or Jeff at 250.338.1357.
About the Comox Valley
Located halfway up Vancouver Island’s east coast and rated one of Canada’s top agricultural destinations, the Comox Valley is rich with culinary bounty from land and sea. Coupled with arts, music and sporting events, and stunning alpine to ocean resorts and spas, the region is a place of supernatural beauty that offers rich culinary, cultural and outdoor experiences. The Comox Valley has more than 445 farms producing everything from oysters, bison and wasabi, to award winning wine, beer, gin, vodka and cheese.
2010 Awards Summary for Beaufort Winery
International Wine Challenge (UK) May 18, 2010
Announced May 18, 2010 at the London International Wine Fair:
Bronze medal (85-89 points) for the 2009 Siegerrebe*
Commended (80-84 points) for the 2009 Ortega**
All Canadian Wine Championships (Windsor, Ontario) May 21, 2010
Gold medal for 2009 ORTEGA**
Silver medal for 2009 Ça BEAUTAGE*, 2009 PINOT GRIS**
Northwest Wine Summit (Oregon) May 19, 2010
Silver medals:
- 2009 Panacea**
- 2009 Siegerrebe*
- 2009 Pinot Gris**
- 2009 Ortega**
- 2008 Chimera
- 2007- 2009 Black – Solera**
Bronze medals:
- 2009 Wild Child**
- 2008 Foreplay
- 2008 Syrah-Merlot
* 100% Beaufort Estate Grown
** Contains some Beaufort Estate Grown
