THE recent 2023 Heathcote Wine Show gave winemakers the chance to benchmark their vintages against the region\u2019s finest offerings.<\/p>\n
Best Shiraz went to the Conforti 2021 Shiraz and Best Other Wine, which also took Wine of Show, was the St Anne’s 2022 grenache.<\/p>\n
The Heathcote Wine of Provenance trophy, which is for wines that demonstrate consistency over 10 years, went to Sanguine Estate for their Inception Shiraz 2021, 2018 and 2012.<\/p>\n
Heathcote Winegrowers Association president Ian Hopkins said the show had attracted a large number of competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had 225 entries which we’re pretty happy with,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the positives this year was that the white wine class is up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wine show’s open to only wines produced from fruit grown in Heathcote, the wineries don’t necessarily have to be Heathcote based but the wines must be made from Heathcote fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a number of first-time trophy winners too, so to see them get the major trophies is a very good indication of the quality across the breadth of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many wine drinkers Heathcote is synonymous with Shiraz, but the region also produces a range of other grapes, including Grenache and Mouverde which are both classed as Rhone varietals.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrenache is the most common Rhone variety,\u201d Mr Hopkins said. \u201cThen Mouverde, and also Shiraz.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Heathcote as a region, with its warm days and cool nights, is good for Shiraz, it’s also good for other Rhone varietals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Six judges working in two panels of three, along with two associate judges, worked their way through the entries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe judges are all high-profile winemakers or industry people,\u201d Mr Hopkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year they\u2019re from Victoria and South Australia, with one associate judge from New South Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Justin Purser\u2019s first year as chair of judges, he\u2019s the winemaker at Stonier on the Mornington Peninsula.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously he was at Bests in the Grampians, and he is very experienced as a senior wine show judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, for the first time and on Justin’s initiative, we had a master class on Wednesday night where we compared a number of Rhone blends from different wine regions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeking to do with the wine show is give Heathcote winemakers the opportunity to see where their wines sit in the scheme of things and hopefully engage in continual improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
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THE recent 2023 Heathcote Wine Show gave winemakers the chance to benchmark their vintages against the region\u2019s finest offerings. Best Shiraz went to the Conforti 2021 Shiraz and Best Other Wine, which also took Wine of Show, was the St Anne’s 2022 grenache. The Heathcote Wine of Provenance trophy, which is for wines that demonstrate […]<\/p>\n