Kaleden winery’s Chardonnay wins international award in Burgundy, France
OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC – Lakeboat Vineyard & Winery, a boutique producer perched above Skaha Lake in British Columbia’s South Okanagan, has earned a Silver Medal at the 2025 Chardonnay du Monde competition in Burgundy, France—one of the world’s most prestigious showcases for Chardonnay.
The recognition for Lakeboat’s 2021 Chardonnay marks a milestone for the winery and a meaningful moment for Kaleden, an emerging subregion now gaining international attention for its cool-climate elegance and mineral-driven wines.
Crafted by winemaker Mireille Sauvé from estate fruit grown on the windswept western bench of Kaleden, the wine balances bright tropical fruit with flinty precision and restrained oak. “Kaleden’s benchland has this rare combination of cool nights, wind exposure, and mineral soils that gives the wine both brightness and depth,” said Sauvé. “The Chardonnay is expressive, lean and structured—it doesn’t need embellishment. We use oak like a picture frame. It’s there to support the wine, not define it.”
Sauvé, who has worked in wine since 1996, says Lakeboat marks a turning point—both personally and for the region. “We make single varietal wines because we’re trying to help define Kaleden,” she said. “And the best way to do that is to let the land speak for itself.”
Winery owner Tara Mathison, who founded Lakeboat with a focus on small-batch, locally sourced wines, sees the award as a signpost for the region. “This medal is proof that our little corner of the valley belongs on the world stage,” said Mathison. “We’re not trying to be big. We’re trying to be honest—to build something grounded, vintage after vintage.”
To mark the honour, Lakeboat will host SippinPretty.co members in VIP Chardonnay comparative tastings throughout the 2025 wine touring season. Additionally, the opportunity to purchase the award-winning 2021 Chardonnay will be made available exclusively to subscribers of SippinPretty.co, a new Canadian platform for curated wine discovery and regional storytelling.
“SippinPretty.co is about discovering the people and places shaping Canada’s wine future,” said founder Yvonne Turgeon. “Lakeboat’s win is everything we aim to celebrate—site-driven winemaking, rising talent and a region still writing its own definition of greatness.”
Bottled just a few kilometres off Highway 97, and now poured alongside the world’s best, the 2021 Chardonnay is a quiet triumph for B.C. wine—and a defining moment for Kaleden.
