After the first round of judging, 10 finalists for this year's Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year award have been announced.
A judging panel comprising Ian McKenzie, Greg Melick, Travis Fuller and Toni Paterson MW managed to cull the 69 nominees down to a group of 10, with representatives from across Australia and New Zealand.
"We were delighted with the standard of nominations in our 13th year of running the awards," Wine Society event coordinator, Lydia Barrie said. "It is a diverse group of winemakers, and it was clear from the start that there was going to be some stiff competition.
"In 2012, New Zealand dominated – taking out two of three awards; but this year Australia looks set to bounce back. South Australia (and the Barossa in particular) is very well represented; and it’s great to see Tasmania and WA back in the finals. New Zealand is represented in the top ten by Alan Peters-Oswald from Nanny Goat Vineyard in Central Otago.
"It certainly bodes well for the wine industry that there is such depth of talent across all the major regions," said Barrie.
The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year comprises three separate awards: two Popular Choice categories (Supporters' Choice and Finalists' Choice), and the grand prize: Young Winemaker of the Year.
The Young Winemaker of the Year judging process comprises two selection stages. Each nominee submits three different wines for an initial tasting, which determines the top 10 finalists
The judging panel had to critique over 200 wines in two days, and panel chair, Ian McKenzie, said Shiraz and Chardonnay were the strongest performers, but there were also some great drops from "other noble varieties."
"With one or two exceptions, the top 20 wines were made from these varieties reinforcing just how well our younger winemakers handle them and the top 10 are to be congratulated for their very fine examples," he said.
The two best wines from each of the finalists are assessed a second time, by an elite panel of judges from Australia and New Zealand, which includes James Halliday, Iain Riggs, John Belsham and Tom Carson.
Joining them this year will be 2013 Sommelier of the Year Jarrod Mills, and the incumbent title holder, Young Winemaker of the Year 2012, Nick Picone.
The results of this round of judging will determine who is named Young Winemaker of the Year.
The awards will be presented on 11 November at Sydney's Gastro Park restaurant.
The 10 finalists for 2013 are:
- Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods (Margaret River, WA)
- Andrew Quin, Hentley Farm (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Helen McCarthy, Thorn Clarke Wines (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Troy Kalleske, Kalleske Wines (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Conor Van Der Reest, Moorilla (Derwent Valley, TAS)
- Clare Dry, Wolf Blass (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Luke Skeer, Wynns Coonawarra Estate (Coonawarra, SA)
- Peter Dredge, Bay of Fires (Tamar Valley, TAS)
- Coby Ladwig, Singlefile Wines (Denmark, WA)
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Alan Peters-Oswald, Nanny Goat Vineyard (Central Otago, NZ)