VINELAND, Ont.,Canada : Royal DeMaria Wines, Canada's Icewine Specialists, came away with five gold medals from the prestigious Les Citadelles du Vin 2002. Judges at the competition held May 12 - 14 in Bordeaux, France acknowledged the winemaking excellence of Royal DeMaria's 2000 Vidal Icewine, 2000 Gewurztraminer Icewine, 2000 Pinot Gris Icewine and the debut vintages of its 2000 Gamay Icewine and 2000 Chardonnay Icewine.

It is the first time in the awards history that any winery has won five gold medals within the same category and it is the second consecutive year that Royal DeMaria has brought home the top award from the renowned Bordeaux competition. Within 2 years of competing at VinExpo the winery entered a total of 10 Icewines and won 10 awards: 7 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Since this award was first won by a Canadian winery in 1991, Royal DeMaria Wines is the only Canadian winery to win 6 such awards. Formerly known as the Civart Trophy and the Grand Prix d'Honneur, the Citadelles du Vin is an annual international competition organized within the framework of VinExpo, the most prestigious wine and spirits exhibition in the world. These international medals follow in the wake of top awards garnered at Brussels-based competition Concours Mondiale, France's Challenge International du Vin, VinItaly, the Fingerlakes International Wine Competition, Selections Mondiales

To date, Royal DeMaria has scored 54 medals in international wine competitions in 2002. The Vineland-based winery was anointed as one of the world's finest producers when its 1999 Riesling Icewine was awarded with the Olympiades du Vin Gold Medal, the highest possible honour from VinExpo, the world's leading wine and spirits exhibition.

"Our Icewines are consistently celebrated as being amongst the elite wines of the world," said DeMaria, who produced his first vintage in 1998.

Producing only Icewine, Royal DeMaria Wines works with 12 grape varieties, including Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Muscat Ottonel and Sauvignon Blanc.In its three-year history, the estate wine producer has amassed a total of 89 medals in worldwide competitions.RDW is an estate producer with 25 acres of vineyards in the designated viticultural area of Niagara, in Southern Ontario, Canada.

For more information or interviews contact Charlene Stephenson, Royal DeMaria Wines
Email: icewine@royaldemaria.com
Phone: 905-562-6767 Fax:905-562-6775 Web site: www.royaldemaria.com