Saturday 20 February 2010

Trophy Winners Announced for 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition

Trophies, including the Joy Lake Memorial Perpetual Championship Trophy for “Best Wine of Competition” from the 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition were presented at a seven course dégustation banquet in the Grand Ballroom, Shangri La Hotel Sydney, on Saturday, February 20.

This independent International Wine Competition is unique in that the final round of judging is conducted with appropriate food which, Competition Director Warren Mason says, “offers a realistic consumer guide for matching appropriate wines to diverse food dishes”.

Instead of varietal categories, finalists are categorised according to palate weight: Lighter, Medium and Fuller Bodied Styles. Final judging was done beside food dishes that wines of the given palate weight complement.

All 2010 results have been published on the Competition’s website www.top100wines.com with individual judges’ comments for each Award winner and recipes of all the food dishes presented.

“The International Panel of Judges’ comments clearly show the consumer that we all have slightly different palates, different perceptions about wine” says Mason. “The Competition’s main aim is to encourage consumers to make up their own minds about which wines to choose. It’s built around helping consumers make considered choices, to take full advantage of the vast array of wine styles that are available and to choose what to drink with a given dish with a purpose in mind. We aim to help them become their own, informed sommelier.”

The Competition’s attracts entries from both boutique and large commercial wine companies. “Each wine entered has its own unique story”, says Mason. Some notable examples this year include:

• The Wine Society Perpetual Trophy for “Most Successful Winery or Brand” of Competition went to Westend Estate Wines, Griffith, NSW. Westend took out nine awards from 20 wines entered. Considering only 15% of all entries receive any award, this was a remarkable achievement.

• Against the might of the “big boys” three Red Wine Trophies went to the Young area in the Hilltops GI region, Central NSW. Considering miniscule Hilltops has only three Boutique wineries plus about another five growers, this was a remarkable achievement. Look for Grove Estate and Moppity Vineyards.

• Peter and Margaret Lehmann’s “Margaret” Barossa Semillon 2004 took out the Joy Lake Memorial Championship Perpetual Trophy for Best Wine of Competition for the second time in three years. A Semillon? From the Barossa? This was a remarkable achievement.

A public tasting of all Trophy and Blue-Gold Award winning wines will be held on Saturday, 20 March 2010, The Menzies Hotel, Sydney: White Session 10:00 am to 12 noon; Red Session 2:00pm to 5:00 pm. Tickets can be booked online at www.top100wines.com Click SIWC Events on Menu.

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