An organic chardonnay icewine made in British Columbia won the top prize at an international chardonnay competition in France.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s 2014 Chardonnay Icewine came in first place, out of 700 bottles of wine, at the Chardonnay du Monde competition. It was also the only Canadian wine to finish in the top 10.

“Winning the number one chardonnay wine in the world is a triumph for organic growing and winemaking,” Stephen Cipes, the winery founder, told CTV Vancouver.

The wine is described on the winery’s website as a “vibrant icewine with notes of honey, apricot, and poached pears.” The winery also recommends pairing the sweet wine with fresh fruit or drizzling it over ice cream.

The wine retails for $148 a bottle. Its makers recommend trying it chilled on its own or adding it to an icewine martini.

“It recognizes being in harmony with nature and the Okanagan Valley’s truly ideal pristine growing conditions,” said Cipes.

The Chardonnay du Monde is an annual competition that aims to pick the best wines based on their intrinsic qualities. This year it featured wins from 36 different countries with judges from around the world, 50 percent from outside of France.

Second place in the competition went to a wine from Spain, third place to a South African wine and fourth place to an Austrian wine. The other places were filled out with French wines.

Read More at source: CTV News