“Anyone who thinks that Australian wine lacks diversity, individuality or interest has their head in the sand,” said Lester Jesberg, editor Winewise Magazine, announcing the winners of the inaugural Winewise Championship. “In quality terms, the Australian wine industry is alive and well. It’s time to stop the negative talk”.

“In what amounts to a ‘best of the best competition’, the object was to acknowledge Australia’s finest wines, from producers large and small. The Winewise Championship is an exciting new initiative designed to showcase the benchmark wines of Australia” Mr Jesberg said. “And the results demonstrate this well with every State featuring in the awards.”

The best wines from the 2009 National Wine Show of Australia (the premium national show which has become the province of large producers) and the 2009 Winewise Small Vigneron Awards (the premium small producers' wine show) were judged against the best from the major Australian regional wine shows during the 2009 show circuit. To add balance, some “wildcard” entries were invited from producers who don't normally enter wine shows but whose wines were previously judged under show conditions. Mr Jesberg added: “This is a competition amongst peers and gives us an accurate snapshot of the quality of the Australian wine industry at this point in time.”

The judging panel comprised four of the regular Winewise panel and experienced show judges – Lester Jesberg, Debbie Pearce, Len Sorbello and Phil Trickett – and two of the most respected senior judges from within the wine industry – Tom Carson (Chairman of the National Wine Show) and Tim Kirk (Winemaker Clonakilla).

WINEWISE MAGAZINE IS AN INDEPENDENT CONSUMER WINE GUIDE WHICH IS AVAILABLE BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY AND CARRIES NO ADVERTISING.

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