- Your Hunter Valley Magazine
Red, White and Gold Take Centre Stage!
Commemorating its 50th milestone, the CCL Hunter Valley Wine Show’s week of celebrations kicked off last month with wine show judging at Singleton Lone Pine Barracks and concluded with an industry celebration at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley.
Over 350 industry professionals attended the luncheon to recognise and celebrate the achievements of the Hunter Valley wine industry.
Former Commandant of the Singleton Army Base and Freeman of the Shire of Singleton, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove (Retd) and Lady Lynne Cosgrove were special guests at the luncheon where Sir Peter reflected on his involvement in the Hunter Valley Wine Show and the Army’s contribution to the show since its move to the Infantry Centre in 1980.
An esteemed judging panel of highly accredited sommeliers and winemakers tasted 639 wines across three days, awarding 14 Top Gold, 44 Gold, 121 Silver and 205 Bronze medals, plus 25 Trophies. The panel was led by Samantha Connew, as Chair of Judges, with Jeremy Stockman as International Judge.
“The Semillon Classes across the board were all a pleasure to judge, with the best wines having a perfect balance of expression and power. The Chardonnay Classes produced some excellent wines which can easily compete with Australia’s best, while the Verdelho impressed the judges with some sensitive winemaking on display. Despite the powerhouse variety of the region being Semillon, it’s great to see people investing time and money into the next cohort of white varieties such as Fiano and Vermentino,” said Judge Samantha Connew.
While the white varieties were a highlight of this year’s show, the Hunter Valley reds also performed strongly, with the prestigious Best Red Wine of the Show awarded to De Iuliis Wines 2019 Limited Release Shiraz for the second year in a row.
“It’s a testament of a great winemaker in Mike De Iuliis to take out the Best Red Wine of the Show for the same wine two consecutive years running. 2019 was a great vintage, and this wine displayed beautiful freshness and concentration,” said International Judge Jeremy Stockman.
