Local wineries again have dominated the awards presentations at the 2018 Western Australian Boutique Wine Show and 2018 Blackwood Valley Wine Show, with Nannup wineries ensuring all but two trophies remain in the Blackwood region.

Entry in the WA Boutique Wine Show is limited to West Australian wine producers who produce up to 250 tonnes of wine grapes a year, with the Blackwood Valley Wine Show open to all wine producers located in the Blackwood Valley Wine Region. This year, 188 entries from 35 boutique wine producers were judged over 2 days by an expert panel of wine judges.
Having won awards around the world for her own wine during the 20 years she has been involved in the wine industry, Chief Judge, Cath Oates of winery Oates Ends, knows how to pick the best wines out from the crowd. Cath noted that the Show entries demonstrated the “continuing strength and potential of WA wines”, while “40% of Blackwood Valley wines received medals, competing equally with other wines”.

This year a 2016 Chardonnay from Whimwood Estate in Nannup won the most awards – for the second year in a row. Steve Johnstone and Maree Tinker, owners of Whimwood Estate, were thrilled to again walk away with trophies for the Best Blackwood Valley White Wine, Best WA White Table Wine and Best Boutique Wine of the Show. Whimwood Estate are soon to open a cellar door to the public, with Steve’s comment “Now we just need to perfect our Shiraz” hinting at the next of their wines to watch out for.

Association President, Troy Schoof, said “We love results like this, which prove that our local boutique wineries make wine which is amongst the best anywhere. In awarding Whimwood Estate the trophy for Best Boutique Wine of Show, the judges are saying that this is the best wine out of the 188 wines entered from all over Western Australia; a truly outstanding result.”

Another local favourite, Nannup Estate, laid claim to the trophy for Best Blackwood Valley Red Wine with their 2018 Firetower Tempranillo Rose, as well as the trophy for Most Successful Blackwood Valley Exhibitor. Yallingup based Aravina Estate was awarded the trophy for Best WA Red Table Wine for their 2016 Wildwood Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, while Faber Vineyard in the Swan Valley received the trophy for the Most Successful Exhibitor of Show, also for the second year in a row.

Ryan Aggiss of Aravina Estate seemed to sum up the emotions felt by all the trophy winners when he said “It’s not easy to get even a bronze or silver medal for a wine, so to get a trophy for a wine we are all really proud of is very exciting”.

A complete list of trophy and medal winners is available here.