Volume 57 | October 29th 2020
The New South Wales Wine Industry Association represents the interests of all NSW wine producers and grape growers. Our aim is for the NSW Wine Industry Association to advocate for the NSW Wine Industry and provide information and a sense of belonging to our members.
NSW WINE AWARDS TROPHIES ANNOUNCED
On Friday, ICC Sydney was filled with winemakers, grape growers and wine industry professionals from across NSW’s 16 wine regions. Joining them were guests from our valued supporters including the NSW Government Department of Primary Industries, Destination NSW, ICC Sydney, CCL Label, Orora Beverage, Nexia Australia, Riedel, Australia Post, Multi-Color, Charles Sturt University, Finlaysons Lawyers and Canon Australia, and not forgetting our guest of honour, the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC.
Thank you so much to everyone that joined us and made it a very special celebration.
We were all there to raise a glass to the great wine and people that make up our state's fabulous wine industry and to hear the following ...

The 2020 trophy winners are:

Australia Post Trophy for Best Riesling ~ Gilbert 2019 RS11 Riesling (Orange)
NSW DPI Trophy for Best Semillon ~ Briar Ridge 2018 Dairy Hill Semillon (Hunter Valley)
Charles Sturt University Trophy for Best Sauvignon ~ See Saw 2020 Organic Sauvignon Blanc (Orange)
Nexia Australia Trophy for Best Chardonnay ~ Nick O’Leary 2019 Chardonnay (Tumbarumba)
ICC Sydney Trophy for Best Other White Variety ~ Trimboli 2020 Salvatore Trebbiano (Riverina)
Australia Post Trophy for Best Pinot Noir ~ Philip Shaw Wines 2019 No.08 Pinot Noir (Orange)
Finlaysons Trophy for Best Shiraz ~ Lerida Estate 2019 Shiraz (Canberra District)
Riedel Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Ballinaclash 2019 Tom Cabernet Sauvignon (Hilltops)
MultiColor Trophy for Best Other Red Variety ~ Margan 2019 Saxonvale Mourvedre (Hunter Valley)
Nexia Australia Trophy for Best Red Blend ~ De Iuliis 2018 LDR Shiraz, Touriga Nacional (Hunter)
NSW DPI Trophy for Best Organic Wine ~ See Saw 2020 Organic Sauvignon Blanc (Orange)
Chair of Judges Trophy for Best Tumbarumba Wine ~ Nick O’Leary 2019 Chardonnay (Tumbarumba)
Canon Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine ~ Printhie Wines NV Swift Rose (Orange)
ICC Sydney Trophy for Best Sweet Wine ~ Lillypilly 2017 Noble Blend (Riverina)
ICC Sydney Trophy for Best Fortified ~ Mount Pleasant NV Tawny Port Syrah (Hunter Valley)
Orora Trophy for Best Dry White in Show ~ Briar Ridge 2018 Dairy Hill Semillon (Hunter)
CCL Trophy for Best Dry Red in Show ~ Lerida Estate 2019 Shiraz (Canberra District)

NSW Governor’s Trophy for Best in Show ~ Briar Ridge 2018 Dairy Hill Semillon (Hunter)

Congratulations to all this year's winners.

When commenting on the ultimate winner, who takes home the NSW Governor’s Trophy for Best in Show and the title of ‘2020 NSW Wine of the Year’, Chair of Judges Dave Brookes said, “There was much discussion surrounding the wines at the pointy end of the show and this year’s 2020 Wine of the Year was awarded to the Briar Ridge 2018 Dairy Hill Semillon - a wine of fine precision, detail and clarity and one that highlights all that is great about the Hunter's iconic and world-renowned grape variety. A beautifully composed wine; delicious at this stage of its evolution and one with a promising cellar life in front of it too.”

After 4 years fulfilling the role of Chair of Judges at the NSW Wine Awards, Dave Brookes will be stepping down and it was announced that Nick Spencer will become the 2021 Chair of Judges next year. The NSW Wine Industry Association thanks Dave for all his hard work and dedication over the last 4 years.

Full media release available on our website HERE
2019 GRAHAM GREGORY AWARD RECIPIENT
As well as the wine awards, another great achievement was recognised at the 2020 ICC Sydney NSW Wine Awards Presentation Luncheon, when Minister Michael Johnsen, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Member for Upper Hunter, presented the NSW Government's Graham Gregory Award for services to the NSW wine industry.

The winner of the 2019 Graham Gregory Award (the award is retrospective) is Justin Jarrett from See Saw Wines. Congratulations Justin.
The Minister explained that Justin has had an amazing career within the wine industry, spanning more than 25 years, during which he has planted vineyards all over NSW, pioneered new technology, innovations and sustainable vineyard practices, and participated in many industry associations. Whilst he has built a great wine business for himself, he has also established a wonderful place for others to work and over the years has helped bring so many young people into the wine industry. He has constantly given his time and energy to mentor people who are just starting their own wine journey.

It is fair to say that Justin had a good day, being recognised by the Graham Gregory Award and winning 2 trophies for his 2020 See Saw Sauvignon Blanc!
A GOOD WEEK FOR THE JARRETTS
Congratulations to Brendan Jarrett, Vineyard Manager at See Saw Wines, who is a 2021 Nuffield Scholarship winner.
​Brendan receives a Nuffield Scholarship supported by Rabobank. Through his research, Brendan will study the latest innovations and best-practice management systems in the wine industry, to help viticulturalists better adapt to increasing climate variability and market pressures.
​Brendan said, “Though my Nuffield Scholarship, I plan to research the latest in automation, vineyard design, alternative power sources for machineries and pumps, and evaluate wine grape varieties for future suitability to the Australian climate.
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“There is a growing wealth of knowledge and information on the adoption of technology and more sustainable practices in the wine industry. Through my research, I hope to gain a clear picture into the future of grape growing to help Australian viticulturalists and the broader wine industry better adapt to changing market and environmental conditions.”
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Brendan will study disease resistance varieties across France, irrigation technologies and advancements in Israel, autonomy in North American and new vineyard machinery technologies and automation in the European Union.
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We wish Brendan the best of luck with his research!
LATEST COVID RESTRICTIONS & TOOLKITS
As many of you will have seen, there have been some additional easing of restrictions for COVID-19. For Cellar Doors and Tourism, they can be best described as the following:
From this Friday, 23 October:
30 people can gather outdoors in public spaces (previously this was 20)
30 customers per booking, and 30 customers per table at hospitality venues (previously the rule was a max of 10)
In addition, as of last Friday 16 October 2020, corporate functions of up to 300 people can now be held at any appropriate premises, including at restaurants, subject to a COVID-Safe plan (previously just function centres).

Additionally, from 1 December 2020, the number of people who can attend weddings will be lifted to 300 people subject to the four square metre rule indoors and two square metre rule outdoors. 
We have confirmed that Cellar Doors are included in the ‘hospitality venues’ above. I think the increase to 30 people per booking and table is a significant change.

Further details have been published on the government website HERE

NSW Wine has also recently added 2 new documents to our website which contain tool kits from the NSW Government to help you should there be any COVID alerts in your area, plus Mental Health and Wellbeing support material.
Please see HERE.
LATEST WINE EXPORT FIGURES
It is really pleasing to see that the latest export reports from Wine Australia highlight the resilience of our industry with some encouraging increases in figures. In particular, the value of NSW exports has increased by 1% in the past MAT, and even more promisingly, the value per litre of wines with a NSW GI has increased 12% to $6.88 per litre.
Please see the figures below and also there is a link to the full NSW report HERE.
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