Now in its ninth year, the ‘Hunter Valley Legends Awards’ has announced its finalists for Winemaker of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Viticulturist of the Year and Cellar Door of the Year. Winemaker of the Year finalists: Gwyn Olsen, Briar Ridge Vineyard Liz Jackson, First Creek Wines Matt Burton, Gundog Estate Michael De Iuliis, De Iuliis Wines Rodney Kempe, Lakes Folly Rising Star of the Y…

Tempus Two, Nepenthe and McGuigan Wines have all received top awards in the United Kingdom at one of the world’s most prestigious wine competitions – the 2015 International Wine Challenge (IWC). The IWC is one of the world’s largest, and most prestigious, blind tasting competitions where wines are assessed on their taste and quality by a panel of industry experts. Tempus Two received three gold, six silve…

The 2015 finalists of the annual and esteemed Hunter Valley Legends Awards have been announced. The awards, now in their ninth year, celebrate and recognise those who have made major contributions and excelled within the region’s wine and tourism industries. Finalists of this year’s awards fall into four categories – Winemaker of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Viticulturist of the Year and Cellar Door…

The Hunter Valley has taken over from New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region as the number one wine region represented on New South Wales wine lists, with 7.8 per cent of all listings, up 21 per cent on last year. Listings from NSW Wines were up 6 per cent on last year, being the only state to show growth and the Hunter Valley led this charge to become the ninth top Australian listed on wine lists national…

Beam Suntory and Diageo North America Atop Best Spirits in 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Beam Suntory Inc. and Diageo North America both received the major awards atop 1,580 entrants in this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition, announced last week. Announced at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, judges awarded Beam Suntory the Director’s Award for Excellence across its spirits portfol…

De Bortoli Wines has been awarded Excellence in Sustainability at the New South Wales Green Globe Awards. De Bortoli received the award in the medium to large business category. The company was nominated for its ‘Re-engineering our Future for a Carbon Economy’ sustainability project. The project aims to minimise waste and energy consumption and in October of last year the company completed its installatio…

For the third consecutive year, Chief Winemaker at Matua, Nikolai St George, has been crowned Winemaker of the Year. Nikolai was named Winemaker of the year at the New Zealand Royal Easter Show Wine Awards on Saturday March 14, following the same recognition at the NZ International Wine Show in 2014 and the NZ Royal Easter Show in 2013. At this year’s Royal Easter Show, Nikolai also received Champion Wine…

The results from the first Australian Distilled Spirits Awards were announced in Melbourne last week, showing Western Australian distillers to be out on top of the spirit industry, having taken away the most major trophies from the awards. Western Australia won three of the seven trophies from the awards; Great Southern Distillery’s Limeburners Peated Single Malt Barrel M227 took home Champion Australian …

Last night, Sarah Sammon, Co-Founder of Simply Rose Petals, became the first Australian winner of the Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award. The award is part of a global initiative and recognises the success and vision of up-and-coming, entrepreneurial business women, specifically those under the age of 40. This age group is chosen in remembrance of Madame Clicquot, who, at just 27 years of age, took over …

The 2015 Melbourne Food and Wine Legends were announced today at Melbourne’s Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex. Melbourne Food and Wine Legends are part of Melbourne Food and Wine and HOSTPLUS’ industry ‘hall of fame’ program, which pays tribute to the leaders, groundbreakers and visionaries of Victoria’s food and wine industry. The six inductees include Miranda Sharp – Founder of Melbourne Farmers’ …