While the wine world is used to the Kiwis winning white wine categories, the 34th Sydney International Wine Competition (SIWC) proved that New Zealand winemakers were equally adept with their red varieties, the wines proving their versatility and adaptability when judged with food.
Trophy winners were announced at the annual awards trophy and presentation degustation banquet at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney. Overall winner of the competition and Best White Wine was Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2012 from Hawkes Bay. While Australia is considered the spiritual home of Chardonnay, the Kiwi white – which retails at just A$25 a bottle (if it can still be found) – won a trio of trophies: the Joy Lake Memorial Championship Trophy for Best Wine of Competition; the Wine Society (Australia) Perpetual Trophy for Best White Wine of Competition and the Schenker Australia Perpetual Trophy for Best Medium Bodied Dry White Wine.
One of the SIWC judges, Meg Brodtmann MW, said: “This was a stunning wine. Medium yellow in colour. Nut and clove oak aromas, with a peach and almond meal Chardonnay fruit on the nose. On the palate it was round and textured with a beautiful lemon finish. That almond meal coming through again was supported by beautiful oak. It was a gorgeous match with the food.”
The Best Red Wine was the Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir 2010, which won the Perpetual Trophy for Reserve Champion – runner up to Best Wine of Competition, along with the Mark de Havilland Memorial Trophy for Best Red Wine of Competition and the J F Hillebrand New Zealand Perpetual Trophy for Best Pinot Noir Wine.
Chairman of judges Kym Milne MW said: “A very good complex Pinot nose. Ripe berry fruit. Floral and a touch of forest floor complexity. Quite a big rich style with a velvety palate, some oak sweetness and good fruit and length. A lovely rich silky Pinot with the food.”
In both cases, the wines came to the fore when judged with appropriately matched food – the cornerstone of the Sydney International Wine Competition judging process.
Other trends that emerged from the 2014 Sydney International Wine Competition included:
• Elegant Chardonnays made their mark;
• Aussie Sauvignon Blancs staged a comeback in the face of Kiwi dominance;
• Tasmania punched above its weight in all classes; andy
• Shiraz from Australia/Syrah from New Zealand was again the most awarded red variety with a great diversity of styles from both classic and emerging regions.
The 2014 Sydney International Wine Competition produced the most diverse range of TOP 1OO and Blue-Gold award winners in its 34 year history.
Some 2,000 wines were assessed by six Australian and seven international judges, with the 400 highest pointed wines re-judged with food, making it the most consumer friendly wine competition in Australia.
Chairman of Judges Kym Milne MW said “It is pleasing to see not just style diversity between the classes, but also within the classes, providing the consumer with some really interesting options.
“The huge improvement in the style and quality of Australian Chardonnay is a story that needs to be told at every opportunity.  I strongly recommend consumers to try these new style Chardonnays, especially those consumers who moved away from Chardonnay a number of years ago.  You will be amazed by the complexity, elegance and diversity that now exists in Australian Chardonnays.
“Shiraz/Syrah was the most awarded red variety, with a wide range of styles coming from a spread of both warm and cooler climates within Australia and from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand.”
SIWC Convener, Warren Mason, said the competition is still the only international ‘major’ where its judges divide its finalists into ‘Style’ categories of similar palate weight, and judge these ‘Style’ categories alongside appropriate food – with the key objective of making the results more relevant to consumers.
“A wine that is successful in traditional wine shows might taste quite different when tasted with food.  By singling out these award winners, the main aim of the Competition is to help consumers confidently select wines that are more appropriate to every day dining.
“Wines that make the cut in the SIWC Awards are tasted and re-tasted by the judges on four separate occasions, the last of which is with appropriate food. This final assessment enables the judges to assess the wine the way consumers will see it.  Wines that stand out initially don’t always perform as well with food and the reverse is also true.
“The judging is held over five days and is a demanding exercise but it has always attracted highly qualified judges – both local and international – who endorse our approach.  The judging panel for the 2014 Competition was no exception.”
• Full results:

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