Once the database assembled over the past 12 months yielded its secrets, close on a dozen wineries emerged as serious contenders for the Winery of the Year title. That most of these were not selected was not due to any shortcomings, but simply that two of the group had a particularly spectacular array of wines released over the past 12 months.

By chance (or perhaps not) they are both part of the Constellation Wines group, previously known as Hardys. They are Brookland Valley in Margaret River and Bay of Fires in Tasmania. Until I put pen to paper and began to articulate how I came to choose one over the other, I had made up my mind it was to be Bay of Fires. I jumped ship at the last moment because Brookland Valley has eight wines rated 94 points or above; they cover Rose, Semillon, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay (three different wines), Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. That range of itself puts Brookland Valley into a unique position, as no other winery has such a five-glass coverage across so many varietal wines.

There was another reason, although it was barely necessary: four of the eight have a RRP (recommended retail price) of $20 or less. These are from the Verse 1 range, and are Rose, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz.
If all this were not enough, the wines were showered with trophies and gold medals during the wine show year, which technically ended with the Sydney Wine Show in February 2008.

Quite obviously, this refutes the commonly held view that the big winery groups do not make great wine. When it comes to quality wine (as opposed to beverage wine), the winemaking teams - in this instance headed by Ross Pamment - fight tigerishly to protect their bailiwick, their independence and their quality standards. At this level, their attitude is on all fours with that of boutique owner-winemakers.