September 4, 2017
South Burnett wineries have held their own against the best in Australia at this year’s Queensland Wine Awards.
The awards, now in their 34th year, are run by the Queensland Wine Industry Association.
They are only open to wines produced in Queensland, but are judged by interstate wine experts from established wine regions such as the Barossa Valley and Clare Valley against the best wines Australia can produce.
The awards presentation dinner was held at Brisbane’s Hotel Grand Chancellor last Wednesday night.
A total of 165 wines were entered in this year’s competition, spread across 17 judging classes.
The largest class was Dry Red Varietals (34 entries) followed by Dry White Varietals (29 entries) and Shiraz or Shiraz/Viognier (26 entries).
Chief judge Hamish Seabrook from Seabrook Wines in the Barossa Valley led a panel of seven other judges and associate judges to determine this year’s winners.
South Burnett wineries Clovely Estate, Moffatdale Ridge and Dusty Hill all took part in this year’s competition, and were rewarded with three trophies, two gold medals, three silvers and eight bronzes – roughly one seventh of all the gongs on offer.
Last year, the region won two trophies along with a gold medal, three silvers and nine bronzes.
Clovely Estate – the region’s biggest wine producer – exceeded its 2016 feat of winning two of the major awards by winning three.
This year Clovely won the Outstanding Wine of Provenance for its 2010, 2013 and 2014 Semillions, plus Champion Wine $20 or Under for its 2013 Semillon, while its viticulturalist Aaron Stephen was judged Queensland Viticulturalist Of The Year.
The company took a gold medal for its 2013 Semillon, along with three silver medals for its 2014 Semillon, 2015 Sangiovese and 2015 Table Chardonnay.
Clovely also won four bronze medals for its 2010 Reserve Blanc de Blanc, 2012 Artisan Polyphemus Passito Shiraz, 2014 Sapaveri and 2015 Barbera.
Moffatdale Ridge won bronze for its 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon.
And Dusty Hill Wines won a gold medal for their 2015 Forgotten Shiraz, along with three bronzes for their 2015 Botrytis Verdelho, 2017 Verdelho and Liquer Muscat.
South Burnett Wine Industry president Jason Kinsella said the region should be very proud of the results achieved by local winemakers.
“The Queensland Wine Awards are our state’s top wine competition and it attracts the best wines Queensland has to offer,” he said.
“Any wine that walks away with a medal has been subjected to the highest level of scrutiny, because the judges are grading Queensland wines against the best wines Australia can produce.
“That means a win at this level could be repeated at any other wine competition in Australia.”
Dr Susan Mercer, the CEO of Clovely Estate, said she was delighted by the results which were a tribute to everyone who worked for the company.
Clovely Estate is the largest winery in the South Burnett and produces the widest range of varieties.
Its first vineyards were planted in 1997, and in 2015 won a coveted five star winery rating from James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion – one of just nine awarded in Queensland.
The complete 2017 Queensland Wine Awards results can be downloaded by clicking here (475K PDF).
Related articles:
- Wineries Double Medal Count (2016 Awards)
- Clovely Wins Big At State Wine Awards (2015 Awards)
