Mr. Speaker, Yukon has great placer gold, but British Columbia has another type of gold. I am pleased to rise today to congratulate the wineries in British Columbia on winning 152 out of the 268 medals handed out at the Canadian Wine Awards.
British Columbia wines are recognized around the world for their fine quality and the strong showing in this year's competition confirms this. This was the second annual award ceremony sponsored by Wine Access magazine. Wineries from across Canada attended the ceremony at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. The wines were judged by a panel of eight Canadian wine writers and tasters in a blind test last August. The categories which included red wine of the year, reflect the increasing sophistication, diversity and quality of domestic Canadian wines.
I ask the House to join me in congratulating all the winners of this year's awards.