Accolade Wines’ Australian brands have completed an outstanding local and international wine show run with a treasure trove of trophies and gold medals. A total of 56 trophies and 178 gold medals were awarded to 13 of the business’ premium wine brands, spanning some of the country’s leading wine producing regions.
The Tasmanian charge – led by Australia’s pre-eminent sparkling wine producer the House of Arras – and cold climate classics, Eddystone Point and Bay of Fires, collected an impressive 23 trophies and 43 gold medals in total.
Notably, the 2006 House of Arras Blanc de Blancs was awarded the Len Evans Memorial Trophy for wine of show at the National Wine Show. This is the first time in history a sparkling wine has been awarded the illustrious accolade.
On the world stage, the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) also provided an opportunity for success with the 2002 House of Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged bringing home the Denbies Wine Estate Trophy for Bottle Fermented Sparkling Wine. To cap off an already stellar year, Accolade Wines recognised Ed’s contribution to sparkling wines, releasing Australia’s most exclusive sparkling wine, and a limited edition 1998 House of Arras 20th Anniversary release of the eponymous EJ Carr Late Disgorged. For both Bay of Fires and Eddystone Point it was, not surprisingly, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir that delivered standout results.
Hardys, pioneers of the McLaren Vale region since 1853, added a whopping eight trophies and 41 gold medals to the list of accolades. It was the new Hardys fortified wine blends that were dominant, collecting six of the eight trophies, the standout being the IWSC Fortified Wine Trophy awarded to Hardys 20 Year Old Rare Muscat.
In the Barossa, it was a similar story with a suite of Grant Burge Wines fortifieds collecting trophies at a number of Australian wine shows. Sparkling wine was another category where Grant Burge Wines tasted significant success.
Our West Australian wineries had arguably their best year to date, with renowned producers Houghton and Brookland Valley notching up an impressive haul of 58 gold medals and 18 trophies between them.
The trophy success for Brookland Valley was led by two wines of persistent quality, driven by exceptional winemaking – the 2012 Estate Cabernet Merlot and 2014 Estate Chardonnay. Houghton, under the guidance of Senior Winemaker and Manager Ross Pamment and his team, had a staggering run of award wins including Winemaker of the Most Outstanding Red Wine in Show at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, two Most Successful Exhibitor awards, and the Red Wine of Provenance Award for the highly regarded Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon at the National Wine Show, just to name a few.
Paul Lapsley, Accolade Wines’ Chief Winemaker notes that 2015 has been an amazing year for the company with outstanding results achieved in all categories.
“We are very proud of the wines we produce and to receive the wide recognition we have this year is a real testament to the relentless energy and cumulative effort from vineyards to wineries then bottling. It has been fantastic to see so many people contributing to achieve such remarkable results.”
