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Gold medal winning wines on show at Australia Day Tasting

07 Dec 2017

Wine Australia is inviting the trade to register for the Australia Day Tasting in London and try a selection of over 1000 wines including gold medal winners from three international competitions.

For the first time at the London Australia Day Tasting, Wine Australia will be showcasing a selection of 60 gold medal winning wines from the 2017 International Wine Challenge (IWC), Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) and International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). The wines will be displayed in the free-pour Gold Medal Winning Wines Focus Room, one of two Focus Rooms at the event.

The 60 wines – 20 from each competition – will demonstrate the quality and diversity of Australian wine. From Tasmanian sparkling to aged Hunter Semillon, cool climate Shiraz to Rutherglen Muscat, guests can taste the exciting line-up and find out why they’ve been crowned gold. Some of the producers may be familiar names such as House of Arras, Langmeil and Robert Oatley. Others will be new discoveries and are seeking distribution in the UK and Europe, for example All Saints Estate, Gatt Wines and Levantine Hill.

Australia achieved a record number of gold medals in the 2017 IWC, DWWA and IWSC competitions, which reflects the growing enthusiasm for Australian wine around the world.  

IWC 2017: Australia won 122 gold medals, 42 more than in 2016, and finished second in the total medal count, beaten only by France. Australia picked up 875 medals – gold, silver and bronze.

DWWA 2017: Australia received 66 gold medals, compared to 45 in 2016. France, Italy and Spain walked away with the most awards, however Australia outperformed all three in the share of gold and above. Of the 981 awards Australian wines received, 6.7 per cent were gold and above. 3.6 per cent of France’s awards were gold and above.

IWSC 2017: In previous years of the IWSC around 5% of Australian entries achieved gold medals, but this year it increased to 7%, with Australia winning 71 golds, compared to 39 in 2016. 

Peter McCombie MW, Co-Chairman of the International Wine Challenge, commented:

‘Wine producers in Australia have had another fantastic year in the International Wine Challenge 2017. The array of medals awarded is testament to what Australian winemakers are capable of. Australia is at the forefront of the wine industry, producing good-value, high quality wines, and these results demonstrate that it’s an exciting time for Australian wine.’

Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia Head of Market EMEA, said:

‘We’re very pleased to be showcasing some of Australia’s gold medal winning wines in one of our new Focus Rooms at the London Australia Day Tasting. This area will give guests a snapshot of Australia’s most celebrated and iconic wine styles, whilst highlighting the diversity of Australian wine through a mix of regions, varieties and winemaking methods.’

The Australia Day Tasting, the largest trade tasting of Australian wine outside Australia, takes place in London (23 January), Edinburgh (25 January) and Dublin (29 January). Across the three tastings, there will be 1200 wines from 245 wineries.

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For media enquiries please contact

For media enquiries please contact:

Emma Baumann

PR and Communications Manager, Wine Australia

Phone: +44 (0)207 438 4669   Mobile: +44 (0)759 083 4514

Email: emma.baumann@wineaustralia.com

 

About Wine Australia

Wine Australia supports a competitive wine sector by investing in research, development and extension (RD&E), growing domestic and international markets and protecting the reputation of Australian wine.

Wine Australia is an Australian Commonwealth Government statutory authority, established under the Wine Australia Act 2013, and funded by grape growers and winemakers through levies and user-pays charges and the Australian Government, which provides matching funding for RD&E investments.

About the Australia Day Tastings

This three-city roadshow takes place every January. Dates and venues for 2018:

London

Tuesday 23 January 10am – 5pm

B1, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4DA 

Edinburgh

Thursday 25 January 1pm – 6pm

The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ

Dublin

Monday 29 January 1pm – 6pm

The Round Room, The Mansion House, 2 Dawson Street, Dublin  

A number of winemakers and winery owners will be flying over from Australia to pour their wines and share their stories. At the London event, this list includes Martin Spedding (Ten Minutes by Tractor), Jeremy Dineen (Josef Chromy), Rory Lane (The Story), Damian North (Journey Wines), Andrew Hardy (Petaluma) and Toby Barlow (St Hallett).

Some of the gold medal winning wines, which also won trophies, on show in the Gold Medal Winning Wines Focus Room in London:  

  • Charles Melton Wines Nine Popes 2014 - IWC Barossa Red Blend Trophy, South Australian Red Trophy, Australian Red Trophy
  • Gatt Wines High Eden Riesling 2010 - IWC Eden Riesling Trophy
  • Jansz Tasmania Premium Vintage CuvĂ©e 2011 - IWC Australian Sparkling Trophy
  • Claymore London Calling Cabernet-Malbec 2015 - DWWA Best Value Australian Red Blend
  • De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat NV - DWWA Platinum Best in Show: Best Value Sweet Fortified
  • Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2015 - DWWA Best Australian Chardonnay
  • House of Arras  Grand Vintage 2008 - IWSC Australian Wine Producer of the Year (House of Arras)

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This content is restricted to wine exporters and levy-payers. Some reports are available for purchase to non-levy payers/exporters.