Premier’s trophy:

A cool climate wine from South Gippsland has taken out the Premier’s trophy at the 2018 Victorian Wine Show.

An experienced panel of judges including Australian winemakers and sommeliers, and international judges from New Zealand and South Africa, declared The Gurdies Winery 2017 Orchid Label Chardonnay the ‘best of the best’.
After taking out Best Wine at the Gippsland Wine Awards, Dick Wettenhall from The Gurdies Winery was delighted to take home the Premier’s trophy.

“It’s a wonderful award, of course from my point of view it’s wonderful, but from the point of view of promoting the Victorian Government’s interest in the Victorian wine industry, it epitomises their interest in growing our wine industry, so I think it’s a fantastic initiative to have this trophy”

The Premier’s trophy showcases the best wines from regional wine shows across Victoria, with The Gurdies Winery one of 12 wineries vying for the title.

“Victoria really has a whole range of small to medium wineries that really create the diversity of wine styles that Victoria is built on and to have a show like this embracing all the small to medium producers in the way they do is really special,” said trophy winner Dick Wettenhall.

The Premier’s Trophy is now a regular feature of the Victorian Wine Show after being launched last year with support from the Department of Regional Development and the Wine Growth Fund.

The Victorian Wine Show is the largest gathering of Victorian wines at any one event and is focussed on promoting the quality, diversity and regionality of Victoria’s wineries.

This year’s event attracted 770 wines from across the state with judging held across three days at Mitchelton Winery in Nagambie.

For the full list of trophy winners from the 2018 Victorian Wine Show, click here.

Travel scholarship:

A young winemaker with a passion for Riesling and Pinot Gris has been awarded an International Travel Scholarship at the 2018 Victorian Wine Show.

Mark Hickin, assistant winemaker at Seymour winery, Wine by Sam, was awarded the scholarship at the recent Victorian Wine Show.

“This is such a great opportunity,” said Mark. “I’m passionate about wines so to have the financial support to go overseas and research my passion in whites and bring that information back and be able to share it with the wine making community is fantastic”

Mark’s application to the judging panel detailed his desire to visit Alsace in France to focus on the Riesling and Pinot Gris grape varieties.

“I want to research the oenological process, including pick times, cold settling techniques, SO2 regimes and timing, fermentation kinetics, and residual sugar influence on style,” he said.

“I’m also keen to look at the phenolic regimes, including skin contact which is part of some Alsatian wine styles, and vineyard management techniques and how that could be applied to the Victorian wine industry”

The Travel Scholarship was launched last year as an initiative of the Victorian Wine Show Committee with funding assistance from the State Government’s Wine Growth Fund.

The aim of the Scholarship is to help build knowledge for the Victorian Wine Industry.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for professional development on a personal level for the recipient,” said Victorian Wine Show Director Robert Paul. “The scholarship also benefits the Victorian wine industry as a whole, because as part of the conditions, the winner will report back to the industry at large and share the knowledge they gain”

For young winemaker Mark Hickin, the scholarship is a dream come true. “I don’t know many other places that give you the opportunity to go overseas and research your passion like this and also publish your ideas and knowledge”