The winners of the 2015 AHA -Aon Hospitality Awards for Excellence were announced at the Lion Gala Ball at Crown Perth on Monday, 17 November. The Ashby Bar and Bistro was named WA’s best retail bottle shop, receiving the Retail Bottle Shop Award. The awards recognise accommodation hotels, pubs, bars, dining and tourism facilities, as well as employees that demonstrate excellence within the industry. AHA…

2015 winners of the Wine Communicator Awards were announced on Tuesday night, including the coveted Wine Communicator of the Year title. It was Tyson Stelzer who was the deserved winner of this year’s Wine Communicator of the Year award, recognising his popular ‘The Champagne Guide’, as well as other published works on the Australian wine industry and his new People of the Vines television show. Also reco…

Sixteen members of the Australian grape and wine community have graduated from this year’s Future Leaders program, joining over 90 successful alumni since the program began and becoming potential game-changers in the Australian wine industry. Over the past ten years, the Future Leaders program has helped educate graduates in a diverse range of industry fields, including winemaking, grape growing, viticult…

A first in the history of the NSW Wine Awards, Canberra’s Nick O’Leary has won the coveted Wine of the Year Trophy again. Taking out the show with his 2013 Bolaro Shiraz last year, this year O’Leary stole the show with his 2014 Shiraz. O’Leary’s popular shiraz also picked up the trophies for Best Young Shiraz and Best Dry Red. Each produced from small individual parcels of fruit, Nick O’Leary Wines are be…

Western Australia won the top awards at this year’s Craft Beer Awards, taking the title of Champion Craft Beer from 2014 NSW winner, Modus Operandi Brewing Company. It was the family-owned microbrewery, Feral Brewing Co. that won this year’s Champion Craft Beer award, as well as Champion Wheat Beer with its sour beer, Watermelon Warhead. The winning brew is a light sour German wheat beer that has been inf…

Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) has named third generation family member and Executive Director at Brown Brothers, Ross Brown, 2015 Victorian Legend of the Vine. The title recognises an individual who has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the Australian wine industry. Ross, a member of the board of Wine Victoria, is also a member of the advisory board for Victorian Regional Tourism, an…

Winners of the highly anticipated Royal Melbourne Wine Awards were announced on Thursday night, October 11. Taking out first place was Tasmanian winery, Home Hill Wines, which received the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red, as well as the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir. Home Hill Wines was one of only eight wineries to receive a Major Trophy at the awards; owners Rosem…

Proving that you don’t have to be big to make good cider, it was Australia’s boutique producers who sweeped up the major awards at the Australian Cider Awards on Saturday. Best in Show went to Tasmania’s Willie Smith’s limited edition cider, 18 Varieties, which was also named Best Cider and Best Australian Cider or Perry. Chief Cider Maker at Willie Smith’s, Dr. Tim Jones says 18 Varieties is its best p…

Tasmania’s Hellyers Road Distillery has been placed in the world Top Ten – Value for Money whiskies. The rankings were released at the UK’s Global Whisky Master Awards, with Hellyers Road’s pinot noir cask finished expression placed alongside brands such as Alberta Rye’s Dark Batch Whisky and Jameson 18 Year Old. Master Distiller, Mark Littler said the distillery was incredibly proud to be placed among th…

Last week, Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) named Bill Hardy, Global Brand Ambassador and fifth generation winemaking family member for Hardys Wines, the 2015 South Australian Legend of the Vine . Bill was honoured with the award at the WCA Royal Adelaide Wine Show Awards Lunch at the Adelaide Showgrounds before an audience of 350 industry peers and corporate guests. As well as becoming a life membe…