The best wines in NSW have been recognised at the 2015 Pier One Sydney Harbour NSW Wine Awards, where Nick O’Leary Wines was the big winner, taking out the Wine of the Year title for its 2014 Shiraz.
A total of 12 wineries won trophies at the presentation lunch, which took place on 30 October. A record 137 wineries entered, with a total of 872 wines in the running for an award. Additionally, this year, saw more gold medals than ever presented.
President of the NSW Wine Industry Association, Tom Ward said NSW wines were doing great things all over the country and the world, including the Silkman 2014 Chardonnay (winner of the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge), Moppity Vineyard’s 2013 Reserve Shiraz (winner of the 2014 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge) and the McGuigan Bin Semillon team just winning the International Semillon Trophy again, marking five years in a row at the IWSC.
Seven of the state’s wine regions took home trophies: Orange, the Hunter Valley, Hilltops, Tumbarumba, the Canberra District, Mudgee and New England.
The big winner was Nick O’Leary Wines from the Canberra District which was awarded the Pier One Sydney Harbour 2015 NSW Wine of the Year for its 2014 Nick O'Leary Shiraz. This is the second time this winery has won the title.
The work of Bill Calabria, Calabria Family Wines managing director, was also recognised, with Calabria presented with the Graham Gregory Award for services to the NSW wine industry. Rick Colless MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources and Regional Planning, who presented the award said, “Bill has dedicated his whole life to the Riverina … he has been a leader in transforming the image of the region and committed to educating people how to increase wine quality.”
2015 NSW Wine Awards Trophies:
- Best Young Riesling ~ 2015 Colmar Estate Riesling (Orange)
- Best Young Semillon ~ 2013 McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley)
- Best Young Sauvignon Blanc ~ 2015 Cooks Lot Allotment 689 Sauvignon Blanc (Orange)
- Best Young Chardonnay ~ 2014 First Creek Winemakers Reserve Chardonnay (Hunter Valley)
- Best Young White Other Varieties ~ 2014 Topper's Mountain Gewrztraminer (New England)
- Best Mature Dry White ~ 2009 Brokenwood Wines ILR Reserve Semillon (Hunter Valley)
- Best Young Pinot Noir ~ 2014 Colmar Estate Pinot Noir (Orange)
- Best Young Shiraz ~ 2014 Nick O'Leary Shiraz (Canberra District)
- Best Young Cabernet Sauvignon ~ 2014 Moppity Vineyards Lock & Key Reserve Cabernet (Hilltops)
- Best Young Other Red Varieties ~ 2014 Tamburlaine Wines Reserve Malbec (Orange)
- Best Young Red Blend ~ 2014 De Iuliis Shiraz Touriga LDR Vineyard (Hunter Valley)
- Best Mature Red ~ 2011 De Iuliis Shiraz Limited Release (Hunter Valley)
- Best Organic Wine ~ 2014 Tamburlaine Wines Reserve Malbec (Orange)
- Best Sparkling Wine ~ 2002 Courabyra "805" (Tumbarumba)
- Best Sweet Wine ~ 2013 Bunnamagoo Estate Autumn Semillon (Mudgee)
- Best Dry White ~ 2014 First Creek Winemakers Reserve Chardonnay (Hunter Valley)
- Best Dry Red ~ 2014 Nick O'Leary Shiraz (Canberra District)
- Pier One Sydney Harbour 2015 NSW Wine of the Year ~ 2014 Nick O'Leary Wines Shiraz