Stuart Hordern, Senior Winemaker at Brokenwood Wines in the Hunter Valley, has been awarded the Lens Evans Tutorial Dux for 2016. As Dux of the 2016 course, Stuart has secured judging positions at the Sydney Royal Wine Show and the National Wine Show in Canberra, two of Australia’s most prestigious wine events. The Tutorial, conceived by the late Len Evans AO OBE and recently awarded the McWilliam’s Mauri…

Glen Grant 18 Year Old is the oldest vintage in the range and was named ‘Scotch Whiskey of the Year’ by Jim Murray in the 2017 edition of the Whiskey Bible. The Speyside malt was one of 1, 241 whiskeys tasted by Jim, and was said to be “the best new offering from the motherland in a few years.” For the fifth year in a row, Jim Murray also named Glen Grant 10 Year Old the winner of the 10 Years and Under (…

Ben Hasko has become Australia’s third Master Sommelier, joining Franck Moreau MS and Sebastian Crowther MS. The Master Sommelier examination is considered one of the hardest to pass in the wine industry globally. Hasko is based in Sydney and runs Cru Wines, a specialist wine importer and distributor, and Bootleggers, an exclusive online wine retailer. After successfully completing the exam, Hasko can n…

Winners of the 2016 NSW Wine Awards were announced today at the Gala Presentation Lunch at Pier One Sydney Harbour. For the first time in the awards history, a wine from Cowra – a region in Central NSW – received the top NSW Wine of the Year trophy. The Windowrie Estate 2015 ‘The Mill’ Shiraz was described by Chair of Judges, PJ Charteris, as “a wine that expresses its beautiful fruit first and foremost. …

Wine Communicators Australia has announced the finalists for the 2016 Wine Communicator Awards. Established in 2004, the awards program is now in its fourth year, recognising outstanding contribution to, and excellence in, wine communication in all its forms. Ten wine industry professionals have been selected to judge entries to six of the awards categories, while the New Writer of the Year Award will be …

A boutique winery in Margaret River has won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, awarded at the 2016 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards. Deep Woods Estate received the accolade for its 2014 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, marking the first time in six years since a cabernet has won the coveted trophy. The same cabernet also won the trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon of the show. Punt Road in Victoria was also among suc…

This years’ IBA Retail and Supplier Awards were announced at the National Trade Workshop in Fiji – honouring the best performers in the IBA network. And the winners are: National Retailer of the Year 2016 Hastings Co-op SUPA IGA plus Liquor Wauchope – Lisa Attkins National Cellarbrations Retailer of the Year 2016 Cellarbrations Superstore at Torquay Hotel – Darren Carter National IGA Liquor Retailer of th…

Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) has just awarded d’Arry Osborn with 2016 South Australian Legend of the Vine at the WCA Royal Adelaide Wine Show Awards Lunch, in the presence of 300 industry peers. Having spent his lifetime of almost 90 years immersed in the wine industry, d’Arry has been recognised as an individual who has contributed substantially to Australian wine. In 1943, 16-year-old d’Arry b…

Winners of the 42nd biennial  Vin de Champagne Awards were announced on Monday night at Four Seasons Sydney. The awards are recognised as being among the most coveted in Australia and acknowledge two individuals within and outside of the food and drink industry who act as ambassadors of the Champagne Appellation by sharing their knowledge and appreciation of the wine with local consumers. (You may also b…

A number of alcohol beverage suppliers have been recognised at the 2016 POPAI Marketing at Retail Awards for best practice, innovation and excellence in retail marketing. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were awarded to Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), Brown-Forman, Accolade Wines, [yellow tail], Diageo and McWilliam’s Wines. CUB’s BWS mobile campaign for Great Northern Sup…