14th August 2017
WINE SHOW ENTRIES CLOSE NEXT WEEK!
Entries for the 2017 Limestone Coast Wine show close at the end of next week on August 25, 2017. The 17th annual event promises to be another great showcase of the regions, with early signs of high entry numbers on the back of a strong vintage.
Chief of judges, Jane Faulkner, will be joined by an exciting new expert line-up in her final year at the helm. Brown Brothers winemaking consultant, Wendy Cameron MW, has been appointed chair of the new-look panel, which also includes Margaret River winemaker and Jimmy Watson Award-winner Julian Langworthy, 2016 Australian Women in Wine Awards Winemaker of the Year Emma Norbiato from the Riverina, and sommelier and manager of Melbourne’s City Wine Shop Jeremy Prideaux. In addition, UK-based freelance wine writer and educator Sarah Ahmed has accepted the invitation to be guest international judge, bringing her comprehensive knowledge of Portugese and Australian wines to this region.
“That’s five new palates offering new perspectives on Limestone Coast wines – it’s a really strong team, and entrants can look forward to great diversity of opinions and ultimately some really valuable feedback on their wines,” says the wine show committee’s Sarah Pidgeon.
In other exciting developments for this year’s show, the Provenance Class introduced in 2016 has been expanded to include separate awards for red and white varieties. The class gives exhibitors the opportunity to showcase the remarkable ageability of their wines by entering three vintages of the same wine to be judged for consistency, excellence of style, and pedigree.
“We had such strong support and quality in this class last year that we could see the benefit of awarding both a red and white provenance winner,” Sarah Pidgeon explains. “We’ve also made some changes to entry conditions for this class in order to make sure more people have the opportunity to enter – there will be one entry fee for the three vintages entered with two bottles only required for this class, and any unused bottles of the older vintages will be returned to the exhibitor at the public tasting on Friday 27th October.”
This year’s event will also see separate trophies awarded to a sweet and sparkling wine due to strong recent showings in both categories, bringing the total number of trophies and awards available to 22. Judging will take place at the Coonawarra Hall from Monday 23rd – Thursday 26th October, with the Padthaway Wine Region set to host the October 26 trophy presentation dinner.
For further information, please contact Sarah Pidgeon on 0412 825 149.
