Matos Winery has taken home silver in the 2011 Canadian Wine Awards, says Allen Roach, Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning.

“I am delighted to see Matos Winery receive such an honor,” said Minister Roach. “The Province is proud to support an Island-based business that continues to develop its product and as a result be rewarded on a national scale.”

Matos Winery is owned and operated by Jaime and Heather Matos. The couple has a background in the home-brew wine industry and in 2011 opened a full-scale winery in St. Catherines, Prince Edward Island. Their Gamay-Noir wine was recently awarded the silver prize at the 2011 Canadian Wine Awards hosted by Wine Access Magazine. The Island-based company was up against stiff competition and beat out 1,117 other registrants for the award.

“We are extremely excited about the award,” said Jaime Matos. “We are proud of our wine and we are looking forward to expanding our name and product.”

Matos’s 2010 harvest produced over 7,000 bottles of wine and future plans include an annual output of 95,000 by 2016. The prize winning Gamay-Noir wine will soon be easy to recognize by an awarding winning sliver emblem that will be applied to the bottles.

A full list of award winners will be published in the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Access Wine.

For more information on the Matos Winery, vineyard tours and wine tasting, visit www.matoswinery.com.