Entries for this year’s Wine Communicator Awards will be coming to a close this Friday, September 16 th . The awards recognise outstanding contribution to, and excellence in, wine communication in all its forms. The 2016 Wine Communicator Awards categories include: Best Published Feature Articles or Wine Column New Wine Writer of the Year Digital Wine Communicator of the Year Best Wine Website…

The Institute of Masters of Wine has welcomed 13 new members from eight countries, including Australia, China, France, India, Ireland, Taiwan, the UK and USA. The new MWs are Richard Ballantyne (UK), Bree Boskov (Australia), Barbara Boyle (Ireland), Matt Deller (USA), Matthew Forster (UK), Sonal Holland (India), Jeremy Lithgow (UK), Mary Margaret McCamic (USA), Iain Munson (France), Mick O’Connell (Irelan…

Larry Cherubino Wines has been awarded Best Value Winery of the Year in the 2017 Qantas epiQure Halliday Wine Companion Awards. The award, considered one of the Australian wine industry’s highest honours, recognises producers with a portfolio consisting of the most outstanding wines that are great value for money. James Halliday’s 2017 Australian Wine Companion, considered the definitive guide to Australi…

On Monday 25th July, the Lens Evans Tutorial was presented with the McWilliam’s Maurice O’Shea Award, the Australian wine industry’s most prestigious accolade. The Lens Evans Tutorial, conceived by the late Len Evans AO OBE, is an exclusive wine course held annually in the Hunter Valley. The five-day course sees 12 selected scholars exposed to the demands of wine show judging – from master classes, to bli…

Peter Yealands has been awarded with a 2016 Kea World Class New Zealand Award, New Zealand’s most prestigious individual achievement award. Founder of Yealands Estate Wines in Marlborough, Peter Yealands has become a trailblazer for sustainable wine production. One of his most notable achievements for the future of winemaking was the founding of the world’s first carbon zero winery. Ngapera Riley, Global …

Once again, sommeliers from around Australia have sat the Introductory and Certified Sommelier Examinations held in Sydney on June 10th 2016, with much success. Established in 1977, the Court of Master Sommeliers is the most esteemed vocational body for the industry, hosting the programme annually in participating countries around the globe. The first Court of Master Sommelier courses were held in Austral…

This year, the Riverina Wine Show in Griffith will play host to the launch of the inaugural Australian Italian Wine Awards. The all-new awards will showcase the growth and interest in Italian varietal wines in Australia, while providing a unique forum to raise the profile of Italian cultivars amongst consumers. 2016 marks 100 years since Italians first settled in Griffith. Since then, the Italian popula…

De Bortoli Wines’ Senior Winemaker and the creator of the company’s famous Noble One dessert wine has been shortlisted for Sweet Winemaker of the Year at the 2016 International Wine Challenge in London. These awards are considered to be the “Oscars of the Wine Trade” and finalists will be announced at a special event on 7 July. Julie Mortlock, who is based at De Bortoli’s Bilbul Estate in the Riverina, is…

Gage Roads Brewing Company from Western Australia won Champion Australian Beer at the 24th Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) on Thursday night. The accolade is the top award that can be received by brewers at AIBA and was given to Gage Roads for its Little Dove draught beer. Champion International Beer was won by Boston Beer Company, from the US, for its Samual Adams Kosmic Funk Grand Cru. Last …

Australian winemakers bagged 815 medals at this year’s International Wine Challenge (IWC), including 80 Gold, 375 Silver and 360 Bronze, making it the second largest amount of awards won by a country in 2016. Mr. Riggs’ winning Montepulciano In another success for Australia and for the first time in the competition’s 33-year history, local producers, including Adelaide Hills’ Bird in Hand and Mr. Riggs, …