Winemaker Bert Andrews has every reason to be proud of his creations. With his wines receiving six medals at the recent All Canadian Winery Championships, his farm-based Scotch Block Winery in Milton has definitely come into its own.
His off dry Black Raspberry Sensation soft fruit wine was awarded a double gold medal, while his Raspberry Noir and Black Raspberry Noir took home the gold. Scotch Block Cassis Black Currant, Raspberry Truffle and Halton White all won very respectable silver place medals. With the exception of the Halton White, which was bottled in 2011, all of the wines were produced in 2012. Each bottle proudly featured a Scotch Block label which had been produced by a local printing company.
Mr Andrews is very proud of his vintages, and justifiably so. This year’s competition included over 1,300 different entries from 220 wineries across the country, and his wines were firmly placed among the best. He credits a large part of his success to the long hours and hard work that his employees have put in to maintaining the high standards of his products.
Having owned and operated a farm since 1980, he feels that the production of fruit wines is a natural extension of the rest of his business. The region’s mild springs and warm summers are excellent for growing small fruits, and he currently grows strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and currants, all of which can be made into delicious wines with a unique character all their own.
