West Cape Howe Wines can now add a crown to the trophy cabinet after taking out the inaugural Royalty of Riesling title.

Royalty of Riesling, the first event of its kind created by Mt Barker Wine Producers Association (MBWPA) aims to celebrate and promote the Riesling variety for which Mt Barker is well known.

West Cape Howe winemaker Andrew Siddell accepted the title of 2013 Royalty of Riesling along with the crown and cape to round off a successful year for the winery.

West Cape Howe Wine’s Riesling won a gold medal at the recent Royal Perth Wine Show and is the only Western Australian producer to have four wines listed in James Halliday’s Top 100 Wines for 2013.

Mt Barker Wine Producers Association president Kim Tyrer congratulated West Cape Howe Wines on taking out the title and said there had been a fantastic response from producers to the initiative.

“As far as Mt Barker wine producers winning trophies – we don’t mind who wins, as long as it is someone from the district which will help us promote it,” Tyrer said.

Sarah Clancy of West Cape Howe Wines said Royalty of Riesling was a friendly way of competing against each other and the presentation night enabled industry members to learn more about what they were doing in the vineyard.

“Being able to taste through the ‘Brownlow Medal-like’ count also made it a fun wine event to celebrate the local wine industry and Riesling,” Clancy said.

Tyrer said there had been a lot of interest generated by Royalty of Riesling and MBWPA will go ahead with plans to open up next year’s event to wineries from around the Great Southern.