Awards/News
New Labels for our New Releases! We are having a totally new look for our labels. Over the years, the rocks have been our staple and the artist did a wonderful job but the look gets lost on store shelves. We have come up with a new label which will still carry our story. It has the logo on the label which is our beginning; however, the new creek then flows out of the logo indicating a cohesiveness between old and new. The label is a window into nature with Rocky Creek’s logo the bountiful source of water which results in the natural newer image of the creek, with it’s west coast flair. That’s what we do a little traditional with latest techniques or products. Look for it soon…
Blackberry:
Northwest Wine Summit
2006: Silver Medal: Blackberry 2005
2007: Silver Medal: Blackberry 2006
2008: Silver Medal: Blackberry 2007
2009: Bronze Medal: Wild Blackberry 2008
2010: Bronze Medal: Wild Blackberry 2008
All Canadian Wine Competition
2008: Silver Medal: Blackberry 2006
2010: Silver Medal: Wild Blackberry 2008
West Coast Wine Competition
2009: Bronze Medal: Blackberry 2007
Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2009: Bronze Medal Blackberry 2007
Pinot Noir:
All Canadian Wine Competition
2009: Silver Medal: Pinot Noir 2007
Northwest Wine Summit
2006: Gold Medal: Pinot Noir 2005
Wine Press Northwest Platinum Awards
2007: Gold Medal: Pinot Noir 2005
Pinot Gris:
All Canadian Wine Competition
2009: Gold Medal: Pinot Gris 2008
2010: Gold Medal: Pinot Gris 2009
Northwest Wine Summit
2007: Gold Medal: Pinot Gris 2006
2008: Bronze Medal: Pinot Gris 2007
2009: Silver Medal: Pinot Gris 2008
2010: Bronze Medal: Pinot Gris 2009
Ortega:
Northwest Wine Summit
2008: Silver Medal: Ortega 2007
2009: Silver Medal: Ortega 2008
2010: Silver Medal: Ortega 2009
All Canadian Wine Competition
2010: Bronze Medal: Ortega 2009
Robin’s Rose:
All Canadian Wine Competition
2009: Bronze Medal: Robin’s Rose 2008
Katherine’s Sparkle:
Norrthwest Wine Summit
2010: Silver Medal: Katherine’s Sparkle 2008
Rocky Creek Winery wins 7 awards for excellence in winemaking
Yet again, Rocky Creek Winery is receiving accolades for their hand-crafted, sustainable, island grown estate wines. In the short time since they started in 2005, Rocky Creek Winery has won the most awards on all their wines made from locally-grown grapes.
Winemaker Mark Holford remarks “It’s a great indication of the consistency of our wines. We’ve really started to hit our stride. One example is our Pinot Gris, this is the second year in a row that we’ve won a gold medal for this wine and third year out of four that this wine has received a gold medal either at the Northwest Wine Summit or the All Canadian Wine Championships. Our other wines also are consecutive winners and the Blackberry is consistently the best Blackberry wine in Canada and even the entire west coast.
The winery is also proud of their special feature wines named after their two daughters, Robin and Katherine. Last year, the Robin’s Rosé had won a medal and it put the pressure on the winemaker to ensure the wine named after his other daughter also received the attention it deserved. The winemaker needn’t have worried though because in addition to the positive wine reviews from our debut sparkling, Katherine’s Sparkle has now received a silver medal at the Northwest Wine Summit.
Across the island many wineries are bringing home medals from these competitions and with the focus from the island wineries to produce top quality wines, they are now holding their own against any produced in Canada or the Pacific Northwest.
This holds true to Rocky Creek Winery because one of their key missions is to produce wines that are sustainable to Vancouver Island and true to the region. Rocky Creek Winery president Linda Holford states “We know that we can make great wines here that are sustainable, eco-friendly and true to the cool climates wines that we produce. It’s also good to now be acknowledged for these decisions and see that we have been consistently winning awards on all our wines.” This gives Rocky Creek Winery a good reflection of what the “experts” think of the wines and also marries into account what the customers are telling them.
Although growing grapes and making wines can be challenging on the islands, with the right grapes selections, careful grape growing practices and a focus on quality winemaking, we’ve proven that as a winery and as a region, we can compete with anyone in the world.
The winery is open Thurs to Sun from 11 am to 4 pm for tastings, tours and sales. See our website for a complete listing of all our awards, including our latest.