11 July 2018: Entries for the 39th Sydney International Wine Competition – the only international wine show that judges all its finalists in combination with appropriate food – have opened, with wineries from around the world invited to participate.
Wineries will be able to submit wines up till 21 September, with entries capped at a total of 2000 wines to ensure the most rigorous judging process.
Last year, a record 13 countries submitted wines, with all the major wine-producing countries represented, along with smaller producers such as Greece, Israel and Turkey. Last year, entries covered 57 individual grape varieties, another record.
Judging will take place from 8-12 October, and provisional award and trophy winners will be notified by the end of October.
Online entries can be made via the competition’s website www.top100wines.com, which contains full details of the judging criteria and judges’ comments on all award winners from last year’s competition.
With no minimum production requirements, this show is particularly applicable to experimental and small makers to test their wines alongside wines from major producers.
New Chair of Judges announced
This year’s competition will be judged by an international panel of highly experienced and credentialed judges, including five Masters of Wine.
Warren Gibson, who will judge his tenth SIWC, has been elevated to Chair of Judges, succeeding Kym Milne, who will be overseas at the time of this year’s judging.
Warren Gibson began his winemaking career in New Zealand in 1987, subsequently travelling the world as a ‘Flying Winemaker’, being involved in vintages in Australia, Italy, Hungary, France and California, totalling over 30 vintages across ten international wine regions. Besides being a long-time judge of the SIWC, Warren was the Chair of the Air New Zealand Wine Show in 2017 and will be Chair of the New Zealand Wine of the Year™ Awards in 2018. He has also served as an international guest judge of the National Wine Show of Australia (Canberra) and Royal Melbourne Wine Show.
Other judges in this year’s Sydney International Wine Competition include Martin Williams MW (VIC), Martin Moran MW (UK) and Bree Boskov MW (USA) along with returning judges Michael DeGaris (NSW), Corey Ryan (SA), Ken Dobler (NSW), Dr Sue Bastian (SA), Brent Marris (NZ), Stuart Halliday (NSW), Mark Robertson (SA), Stephen Wong MW (NZ) and Andrea Pritzker MW (NSW).
Renowned chef Michael Manners alongside Marcel Kustos from Adelaide University will once again partner to design dishes styled to complement the various wine categories being judged.
Amongst the innovations being introduced to the SIWC this year, the Competition’s website is receiving a major upgrade to make it easier for consumers to search for wines to suit their particular dining experiences and budget. A new cool room has also been constructed at the judging venue in the Blue Mountains to ensure that wines remain at a constant temperature from the moment they arrive.
Entry forms now available: www.top100wines.com
