Aussie Rules: Australia Challenges French Domination with 81 Gold Medals at International Wine Challenge

Australian wines showed their star quality at the 30th International Wine Challenge winning 81 Gold medals in a record year of success that saw Australia close the gap on France as the world’s most awarded country at the awards. Scoring the second highest number of Gold awards Australia’s haul reduced the gap on French winemakers to just 32 Golds.

Australian winemakers demonstrated their mastery of the Chardonnay grape with Gold medals going to Private Bin 2009 by Brygon Reserve Wines, Josef Chromy Chardonnay (2011) from Tasmanian winemakers Josef Chromy.  Oakridge wines also scooped a Gold with their 2012 Lusatia Park Chardonnay.

• One of the most exciting Gold medals went to Adelaide winemakers Rosemount Estate who won Gold with a Graciano, a grape typically grown in Rioja, Spain
• The Gold medal winning Rosemount Estate Nursery Project Graciano Mataro Grenache (2011) shows that Australia has a bright future with Iberian red varietals
• One of Australia’s oldest winemakers Penfolds produced the most expensive Gold medal winner of the competition with their Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon at an eye-watering £195 per bottle.
• The 30th International Wine Challenge awarded 514 Gold medals this year, making it a record for quality with wines
• Entries were received from all over the world including Peru, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lebanon and Thailand

The full press release and high resolution images can be downloaded below. To see the full results, please go to //www.internationalwinechallenge.com/

Quotation

Charles Metcalfe, Co-Chairman of the IWC, says:

“The Australian Gold medal wines at this year’s International Wine Challenge have been absolutely stunning.  Never before have the judges tasted such as strong selection of Gold medal winning Chardonnays.  These wines have been tasted against thousands of contenders so it is a tremendous achievement that will catapult their product to an international audience.  Australian winemakers seem to have a gift for producing Gold medal standard Chardonnays – you might say they have the Midas touch.”

About International Wine Challenge

• In its 30th year, the International Wine Challenge is accepted as the world’s finest and most meticulously judged competition. The IWC assesses every wine ‘blind’ and judges each for its faithfulness to style, region and vintage.  Each medal winning wine is tasted on at least three separate occasions by a minimum of 10 different judges.  Awards include medals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and Commended awards.  The IWC is committed to helping consumers discover great wine, and the medals are displayed on winning bottles offer a trusted guarantee of  quality.

Visit the IWC website for the full list of winners www.internationalwinechallenge.com