Image courtesy Ben MacMahon Images
The trophies from the 2024 Adelaide Hills Wine Show were revealed on Friday, with the top white and red wines being family names.
The Best Wine of Show was a Chardonnay from a tiny producer who earns his livelihood helping others to grow the best grapes possible in the Adelaide Hills. The Vella Wines 2020 Harvest Widow Chardonnay also took Best White Wine of Show, Best Single Vineyard Wine, and Best Chardonnay trophies, leaving its producer Mark Vella “lost for words.”
The Wicks family was also reportedly “thrilled” with the results, with the Wicks Estate 2023 Shiraz deemed Best Red Wine of Show and securing the Best Shiraz trophy.
Alex Trescowthick, president of the Adelaide Hills Wine Region, said the wins underscored the families’ connection to the region.
“It highlights the bespoke nature of our wine region which is rooted in the families that live here, grow grapes, and make wines here. These are Hills wines made by Hills families, who have proudly staked their name to their quality. Congratulations to the Vella and Wick families.”
In the ongoing battle for supremacy between Shiraz/Syrah and Chardonnay each year, head of judges, Sarah Crowe from Yarra Yering in Victoria, explained why the Chardonnay was chosen as Best Wine of Show in 2024.
“Chardonnay is such a strong varietal from the Hills, and this wine had already fought very hard to come out on top over many outstanding Chardonnays. The judges were impressed by the freshness and complexity of the white wine of show. The Shiraz was super vibrant and fresh as well, but the white has an extra few years of bottle age over the red, so we already know it has the ability to age, and it does not look like fading anytime soon.”
The Best Sparkling of Show went to Deviation Road’s 2017 Beltana Blanc de Blancs, who also won Best Producer over 100 tonnes, while Best Producer under 100 tonnes went to Pike & Joyce; both are also family owned.
“The sparkling wines were a high point and selecting which gold medal wines would go through to trophy judging was not an easy task, including excellent museum sparkling wines being considered for the museum trophy,” continued Crowe.
“The Wine of Provenance Trophy is the highlight class of the judging week and not surprisingly the vote came down to a Chardonnay and a Shiraz again. In the end, there was only one vote that separated them. A hearty congratulations to Sidewood for their success for the second year in a row, albeit with a different set of Chardonnay wines.”
“Gamay is the new kid on the block, so there was quite a bit of discussion and excitement about the evolution and commitment to this variety which is very heartening to hear.
“It’s also interesting when a number of different producers are recognised with trophies; it shows the quality, depth and versatility across the Adelaide Hills region.”
Crowe referred to the fact that the Trophies awarded across eleven varietal classes were won by ten different producers. The full results are below.
Top Trophies at the 2024 Adelaide Hills Wine Show
Best Wine of Show, sponsored by Multi Colour Corporation
Vella Wines 2020 Harvest Widow Chardonnay
Best White Wine of Show, sponsored by Langley & Co
Vella Wines 2020 Harvest Widow Chardonnay
Best Red Wine of Show, sponsored by The Manna Group
Wicks Estate 2023 Shiraz
Best Sparkling Wine of Show, sponsored by Torresan
Deviation Road 2017 Beltana Blanc de Blancs
Best Producer of Show <100t, sponsored by Duxton Hospitality Services
Pike & Joyce
Best Producer of Show >100t, sponsored by Chassin Cooperage
Deviation Road
Trophies by style/variety at the 2024 Adelaide Hills Wine Show
Best Single Vineyard Wine of Show, sponsored by Clemens/ G & J East
Vella Wines 2020 Harvest Widow Chardonnay
Best Museum Wine of Show, sponsored by Mt Lofty House
Sidewood 2014 Signature Owen’s Chardonnay
Wine of Provenance of Show, sponsored by Ondeen
Sidewood Signature Owen’s Chardonnay – 2014, 2021, 2022
Best Chardonnay of Show, sponsored by F Miller & Co
Vella Wines 2020 Harvest Widow Chardonnay
Best Sauvignon Blanc of Show, sponsored by Fermentis
Barristers Block Wines 2024 Home Series Sauvignon Blanc
Best Riesling of Show, sponsored by Prowine
Shaw + Smith 2024 Riesling
Best Pinot Gris/Grigio of Show, sponsored by Hahn Corporation
La Prova 2024 Pinot Grigio
Best Gruner Veltliner of Show, sponsored by Humanee
Hahndorf Hill 2024 Gru Gruner Veltliner
Best Other White of Show, sponsored by Lallemand
Wines by Geoff Hardy 2024 Hand Crafted Fiano
Best Rose of Show, sponsored by Hills Bottling and Canning
La Prova 2024 Aglianico
Best Pinot Noir of Show, sponsored by Vinpac
Ngeringa Vineyards 2022 Single Vineyard ‘Summit’ Pinot Noir
Best Shiraz of Show, sponsored by National Wine Centre
Wicks Estate 2023 Shiraz
Best Gamay of Show, sponsored by Turon Consulting & Contract Winemaking
Hesketh Wines 2024 Woodside Gamay
Best Other Red of Show, sponsored by Culture Crop
Ministry of Clouds 2023 LDR
Best Cabernet of Show, sponsored by Blue H2O Filtration
No trophy awarded
Best Tempranillo of Show, sponsored by Blue TK Print
No trophy awarded
A total of 605 wines were entered and judged in the 2024 wine show.
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