Who's the glutton?
OPINION: We are told there is a wine glut - production outstripping demand worldwide - and the words 'wine lakes' are being thrown around.
Yealands Wine Group was named 'Most Successful Winery" of the show and New Zealand wine makers took home 14 of the 31 trophies awarded.
Other successful wineries included Tohu, Pernod Ricard's Church Road, Villa Maria, Matua Wines and Waimea for their Gruner Veltliner, which was awarded the Chairman of Judges's Trophy. Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Central Otago and Nelson all contributed trophy winning wines.
A feature of this year's Sydney International Wine Competitions (SIWC) was the performance of 'great value' wines. Eleven wines from the Yealands Wine Group were awarded Top 100, Blue Gold or Gold medals, while a A$4.99 Rosé from Aldi also won a medal, and their Tudor Shiraz 2014 (A$12.99) took out the trophy for Best Lighter Bodied Dry Red Table Wine of Competition (shared with Angove's Family Crest Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2014 (A$19.99)).
A total of 1812 wines from nine countries were entered into this year's competition, with a record (100) number of different grape varieties and blends represented.
New Zealand once again dominated the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir varieties, while Australia led the way with Shiraz and Cabernet. France confirmed its world-leading position in sparkling wines, with the 2005 Lanson Gold Label Brut Vintage taking out the Best Wine of Competition.
The competition is unique amongst wine shows in that wines are judged alongside food to best replicate the consumer experience.
An international panel of 13 judges, led by chairman of judges Kym Milne, initially blind-tasted all the entrants, and then tasted the 400 leading wines alongside appropriately matched food to decide the award winners.
A total of 288 wines were then selected for TOP 1OO, Blue Gold, and Gold awards, and 31 of these also received a trophy.
Milne praised the quality of this year's entrants, singling out the impact of cool climate wines across a wide range of wine styles, particularly Riesling, Chardonnay and Shiraz varietals.
Milne also highlighted the wide range of grape varieties to have featured in the list of award winners. "The Lighter Bodied Whites class featured wines made from Pinot Gris, Verdelho, Semillon, Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blends, Vermentino, Gruner Veltliner, Sauvignon Gris, Albarino and Savagnin.
"Add to this list an Italian Pecorino from the Marche region that received a Gold medal and there is a lot of fascinating quality wines available to the consumer to choose from. The Gruner Veltliner (2015 Waimea Gruner Veltliner) I selected for the Chairman of Judges Trophy this year is a very good example of this alternative variety."
