Sydney International Wine Competition welcomes the public to taste its 2012 winners.Trophy winners from the 2012 Sydney International Wine Competition — now in its 31st year and the only Australian wine show where wines are judged alongside appropriately weighted food — will be announced on Saturday 25 February at a degustation banquet to be held from noon to 4pm at Sydney’s Shangri La Hotel.
In addition to the 13 Style Category Trophies, another 11 specialised trophies will be presented during the banquet, including The Wine Society’s Trophy for Best White Table Wine of Competition, the Mark de Havilland Memorial Trophy for Best Red Table Wine of Competition, and — of course the climax — the Joy Lake Memorial Championship Trophy for Best Wine of Competition.
The banquet’s theme will be that a wine’s style is more important in wine/food matching than its grape variety, age, label or price. Guest speaker will be celebrated NSW chef Michael Manners, who also devised the dishes that the wines were judged alongside.
The six-course banquet will be preceeded from 10am to noon by an optional tasting of all of the competition’s 200 Blue-Gold Award winners.
The public is invited to attend this vinous extravaganza. Seats are available for $220 per person ($210 per person for tables of eight or ten) through the competition’s website (http://www.top100wines.com).
Tastings of all Blue-Gold Award winners will also be held on Saturday 24 March at The Menzies Sydney. Session 1 (white wines) will run from 10am to noon and costs $33 per head. Session 2 (red wines) will run from 2pm to 5pm and costs $44 per head. Combined tickets are available for $66.
The judging panel for the 31st Sydney International Wine Competition, chaired by Kym Milne (South Australia), comprised Meg Brodtmann MW (South Australia), Dr Ken Dobler (New South Wales), Peter Forrestal (Western Australia), Rob Geddes MW (New South Wales), Warren Gibson (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand), Neil Hadley MW (New South Wales), Xenia Irwin MW (United Kingdom), Brent Marris (Marlborough, New Zealand), Oliver Masters (Martinborough, New Zealand), Mark Robertson (South Australia), Navneet Singh (South Australia) and Martin Williams MW (Victoria). Sharon Wild (New South Wales) was reserve judge.
The top three wines in each judging category were:
Aromatic Wines
Castelli Estate “Castelli” Riesling 2011 (Western Australia)
Lawson’s Dry Hills Riesling 2008 (New Zealand)
Taylor’s Promised Land Riesling 2011 (South Australia)
Sauvignon Blanc Wines
Richmond Plains Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Appleby Vintners) (New Zealand)
Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (New Zealand)
Te Pa Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (New Zealand)
Lighter Bodied Dry White Wines
The Gallows Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Western Australia)
Coolangatta Estate Semillon 2006 (New South Wales)
Wither Hills Marlborough Pinot Gris 2011 (New Zealand)
Medium Bodied Dry White Wines
McLeish Estate Semillon 2007 (New South Wales)
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Grüner Veltliner 2011 (New Zealand)
Warner Glen Estate Chardonnay 2010 (Western Australia)
Fuller Bodied Dry White Wines
Fairhall Downs Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Gris 2010 (New Zealand)
Mistletoe Reserve Chardonnay 2009 (New South Wales)
Mud House South Island Pinot Gris 2010 (New Zealand)
Rosé Wines
Angove Family Winemakers Nine Vines Rosé 2011 (South Australia)
Lawson’s Dry Hills Pinot Rosé 2011 (New Zealand)
Yealands Estate Wines Pinot Noir Rosé 2011 (New Zealand)
Pinot Noir Wines
Bald Hills Single Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009 (New Zealand)
Spy Valley Pinot Noir 2010 (New Zealand)
Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir 2009 (New Zealand)
Lighter Bodied Dry Red Wines
Basilisk Shiraz Mourvedre 2010 (McPherson Wines) (Victoria)
Trinity Hills Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2010 (New Zealand)
Watershed Premium Wines Senses Shiraz 2009 (Western Australia)
Medium Bodied Dry Red Wines
Bird in Hand Shiraz 2010 (South Australia)
Heartland Directors’ Cut Shiraz 2010 (South Australia)
Palmer Wines Shiraz 2007 (Western Australia)
Fuller Bodied Dry Red Wines
McWilliams “1877” 2008 (New South Wales)
Penny’s Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2010 (South Australia)
Yellowtail “1919” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (New South Wales)
Dessert Wines
Blue Pyrenees Botrytis Riesling 2010 (Victoria)
Gramp’s Botrytis Semillon 2008 (South Australia)
Lillypilly Noble Blend 2011 (New South Wales)
Fortified Wines
De Bortoli Wines Show Liqueur Muscat NV (New South Wales)
Morris Wines Old Premium Rare Liqueur Tokay NV (Victoria)
Morris Wines Old Premium Rare Liqueur Muscat NV (Victoria)
For further information on the Sydney International Wine Competition, please contact Warren Mason on 02 4757 4400 or visit http://www.top100wines.com.
High-resolution images can be downloaded from WineMedia’s website (http://www.winemedia.com.au).