Zonte’s Footstep, Henschke and Serafino Wines awarded trophies at the Winepilot Grenache Shootout
Zonte’s Footstep Love Symbol Grenache 2019 has been named the The Grenache Shootout Wine of the Show and Grenache of the Show at the inaugural 2020 Grenache Shootout.
52 Grenache and Grenache-dominant blends were selected to compete in a search for the best Australian Grenache, with a specific focus by the judges on consumer appeal.
Trophies were also awarded to the Henschke Johann’s Garden 2017 for Best Blend of Show and Serafino Wines Family Vineyards GSM 2019 for Best Value Grenache of Show.
Wines were judged blind in three rounds with the top 12 wines from the First Round moving into the Semi-Final. The top 4 wines from the Semi-Final were then judged head-to-head in a Grand Final. Other Grand Finalists included Bondar Wines Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2019 and Hentley Farm The Stray Mongrel 2019.
Eight Gold Medals, 10 Silver Medals and 24 Bronze Medals were awarded, a higher rate than usual due to all entries being handpicked by the Winepilot team. A full list of results can be found here.
The judging panel, chaired by Mike DeGaris, included a diverse range of wine professionals to provide a strong consumer focus. Included were top current and former sommeliers Matt Dunne, Melissa Moore and Simon Curkovic, retailer Jason Bower plus wine educator and corporate speaker Andrea Pritzker MW. Judges tasted a total of 70 wines over four sessions and six hours with the aim to eliminate palate fatigue and foster high quality judging.
Chairman of Judges Mike DeGaris gave the following summary of the show, “Being in the show system for quite some time we taste a range of Grenaches, but there is often not a whole lot of variability. I came into the shootout not sure where it was going to go but I was pleasantly surprised.
“There were lots of delicious wines. There were technical, structural wines. There were wines with flavour. There were some nice commercial entrants that the normal drinker could get their head around and there were the high level wines. The trophy wines nail everything.”
Winepilot Founder Angus Hughson commented, “The Grenache Shootout was about bringing together some of the best Grenache and blends in the country, with a distinct focus on consumer rather than trade tastes.
“I could not be happier with what Mike DeGaris and the judges have pulled out from the 52 wines that were hand-chosen by our team to compete in this event; from juicy, early-drinking styles to more serious and savoury wines. This is the first of many Winepilot Shootouts that focus on finding the best and most delicious wines for the Australian wine drinking consumer.”
The Winepilot Grenache Shootout 2020 was held thanks to generous sponsorship by Wine-Ark and Plumm.
Further information can be found here.
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For further information, images or interviews, please contact:
David Cumming at Define Wine Marketing & Communications: 0414 736 342 or [email protected]
Angus Hughson, Founder & Publisher at Winepilot.com : 0431 146 353 or [email protected]
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Two days to go till the inaugural #grenacheshootout with thanks to our sponsors @wine_ark and @plummwineglasses 52 handpicked Grenache and Grenache blends from around Australia will compete in three rounds to find the country’s best. What’s your pick for Australia’s best Grenache? #wine #wineshow #winepilot #wineshootout #grenacheshootout2020 #grenache #barossa #mclarenvale #clarevalley #heathcote #grampians (at Wine Ark) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGjPs_qH2jT/?igshid=1cef09yde634n
A rare opportunity to check out the new RSRV range from @ghmummnz including Blanc de Blancs 2013, Blanc de Noirs 2009 and Lalou 2006. Coming soon to Australia #wine #instawine #winetasting #winepilot #ghmumm #champagne #vintagechampagne (at Sydney, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGbgn9YnPjo/?igshid=1k24bjy473wwn
Cru is a super range of wines from @stevesmithmw and Brian Sheth from Hawkes Bay, Central Otago and Marlborough. The @kengargett pick is the Omahu Cantera and I’ve got to agree. Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Cabernet Franc make a unique Kiwi/Spanish blend. Bordeaux complexity with a rustic edge. Super #wine #instawine #winepilot #smithandsheth #cru #kiwiwine #newzealandwine #hawkesbay #hawkesbaywine #cabernetsauvignon #tempranillo #cabernetfranc (at Sydney, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGUZ_1hH-LM/?igshid=1zex0cdvc5om
Winepilot have added a new wineshow format to the Australian wine calendar with the development of the Wine Shootout - a single day, invitation-only wine show bringing together a handpicked selection of the best wines from around the country from a single category or grape variety.
Winepilot have developed their ‘Shootout’ concept as a modern take on the traditional wine show. “In many wine shows, judges are tasting over 100 wines in a single day. We feel smaller shows give better results so we have developed our Wine Shootouts, with less than fifty wines judged in a single day so every wine is given its best opportunity to shine,” said Winepliot founder, Angus Hughson.
Wine Shootouts will involve three rounds with all entries scored in the First Round. The Top 12 will then go on to the Semi-Final, before a Grand Final for the Top 4 wines.
A key focus on judges at the Wine Shootouts is drinkability and identifying the best wines with wide appeal for the wine drinking public at large.
“We have purposefully brought together experienced judges from fine dining, retail and wine education to help us identify not only the best wines but also those that are most relevant to the wine consumer.” In addition, trophies will be awarded for the Best Wine of Show and the Best Value Wine of Show.
Winepilot have chosen to focus on Grenache for their inaugural Shootout including both single varietals and grenache-dominant blends.
“The most exciting grape variety in Australia right now is Grenache and we are excited to taste through wines from around the country to uncover the country’s best, from Preservative Free and Natural Wines through to regional classics.”
The Grenache Shootout show will be chaired by seasoned show judge Mike DeGaris with other judges chosen only from Sydney due to COVID travel restrictions. These include top current and former sommeliers (Simon Curkovic, Melissa Moore and Matt Dunne), ALDI Wine Director Jason Bowyer and leading educator Andrea Pritzker MW.
The Grenache Shootout will be held at Wine-Ark in Sydney on Thursday October 22 with results announced the following week.
Key Dates:
Judging ‘Shootout’: 22 October 2020
Results announced: 27 October 2020
For further information, interviews and images, please contact:
David Cumming, Define Wine Marketing & Communications on 0414 736 342 and [email protected]
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Veteran wine writers join for the launch of Winepilot.com
Experience and trust are the cornerstones for the launch of Winepilot with respected wine scribes Jeni Port, Tony Love, Ken Gargett, Rob Geddes MW, Matt Dunne and Erin Larkin some of the wine communicators now contributing to this new online drinks magazine.
Winepilot was founded by Angus Hughson, former Chief Marketing Officer of The Wine Collective and regular long-time contributor to The Australian and Gourmet Traveller Wine, to entertain and guide consumers of predominantly wine, but also craft beer and spirits.
“We are excited to launch Winepilot using such a range of contributors with great depth of knowledge which we are now delivering to a wide range of wine drinkers through a consumer-friendly online platform.”
Traditionally newspaper columns were vital for connecting wineries to a large audience and telling their stories. However, as many of these columns have disappeared, there are fewer opportunities for wineries to be showcased to a broad spectrum of wine consumers.
Winepilot fills this void. As a free digital drinks guide for consumers Winepilot offers wineries much needed exposure using modern digital tools and social media to create and distribute engaging drinks content, with a combination of stories and reviews.
“We want to be the Broadsheet for drinks - a digital magazine that gently guides consumers to a world of better wine, craft beer and spirits, while avoiding trade jargon to resonate with a broad audience by using everyday language,” explained Hughson.
“We feature the best wines and create content of interest to the wider drinking community without a sole focus on super premium wines that are only relevant to a small proportion of the general public. We’ll feature wines from ALDI alongside Penfolds Grange to provide recommendations for all tastes and budgets.”
Hughson says a particular focus for Winepilot is those less engaged wine consumers. “With our free, user-friendly platform, we are helping wineries to connect with consumers that have an interest in wine but are unlikely to buy a magazine or purchase an online subscription.
"Having some of the country’s most respected wine writers allows us to provide our readers with engaging and informed reviews and articles to help them navigate, explore and discover the best available wines.
“Our industry is excellent at communicating with that veneer of high interest, largely older male drinkers but we are not so good for the mainstream, who actually buy most of the wine in Australia, plus younger consumers, who are vital for our industry’s future. 25% of the Winepilot audience is under 35 illustrating that our content is resonating with younger, wine interested consumers.”
Winepilot has a number of highly experienced contributors to which it will add communicators from all parts of the trade, including winemakers and sommeliers, to regularly unearth new voices and provide a broad spread of content with wide appeal.
Winepilot is well aware that female wine consumers are also an important demographic in the industry. “We feel that there are too few regular female contributors in our major local wine publications. Winepilot is pursuing an equal gender split for its contributor base, using and uncovering new engaging female voices and opinions to better connect Australian wine brands to all their potential customers.”
While Winepilot’s focus is on drinks in our local market, the business plans to roll out Winepilot.com into international markets to make wine more accessible to a wide range of consumers and assist local brands to connect with consumers in key export markets.
“We’d encourage wineries to get in contact if they are interested in having their wines tasted and their stories told by the Winepilot team.”
Winepilot founder, Angus Hughson
Winepilot contributors, Jeni Port and Tony Love
For further information, images or interviews, please contact:
David Cumming at Define Wine Marketing & Communications: 0414 736 342 or [email protected]
Angus Hughson, Founder & Publisher at Winepilot.com: 0431 146 353 or angus @ winepilot.com