Local chardonnay a finalist at Victorian Wine Show

A WHITE wine from a Bellarine vineyard has been listed among the very best at this year’s Victorian Wine Awards.

The 2023 Oakdene Liz’s Chardonnay was one of 12 finalists at the 2025 awards, which took place at Parliament House last month.

The award is based on a taste-off between the winning wines from each of Victoria’s regional wine shows last year.

All finalists were in attendance at last month’s event, with their wines presented at a tasting that included government and industry representatives.

Oakdene Vineyards describes Liz’s Chardonnay as having a bouquet of white stone fruit, citrus rind with struck flint aromatics. Its palate is bright and lifted, with a fine core of white peach and citrus, with French oak and slight reductive notes.

This year’s winning wine for the Premier’s Trophy was selected by a panel of wine experts: Josh Cooper from the Macedon Ranges, Matt Harrop from Strathbogie, Luke Lomax from the Mornington Peninsula and Sarah Fagan from the Yarra Valley.

“The judging represents the best of the best of the Victorian wine industry, a diverse range of styles and varieties that show the depth and breadth of this great state for winegrowing and making,” Mr Cooper said.

The 2023 A.Rodda Baxendale Chardonnay from the King Valley won both the Premier’s Trophy and the Premier’s Choice Award (personally decided by Premier Jacinta Allan after a tasting under wine show conditions).

As part of the awards, all the finalists’ wines will be served at functions at Parliament House over the next year.

Victorian Wine Show Council chair Narelle King said the Victorian wine industry was presently facing huge external pressures.

“The state’s winemakers provide employment and important economic activity to the regions as well as being essential drivers of tourism.

“Added to this is the contribution our world class wines make to Victoria’s renowned dining scene.

“As demonstrated by the tasting, despite the challenges our winemakers are facing, the wine lover has never had it better in terms of what is poured in the glass.”