Aussie Wines Keep Legacy Alive

By Andrew Starke

Australia took a starring role at the International Wine Challenge (IWC), an independent wine competition that this year awarded trophies to a record 122 wines from around the world.

France came top of the country board, with 21 wines being awarded a trophy, followed by Australia (15) and Italy and Japan in joint third place with 12.

“The trophies are awarded for region, variety or style or a combination of all three,” IWC director Andrew Reed said. “It's a fantastic achievement for a wine to be elevated to trophy status acknowledging their unrivalled balance, complexity and personality.”

Among the highlights for Australian winemakers was Tim Adams' third successive trophy – giving the winemaker three trophies for three different wines: IWC 2009: Tim Adams Riesling 2008; IWC 2008: Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2007; and IWC 2007: Tim Adams The Fergus 2004.

Four Peter Lehmann wines in four years have won trophies for the Barossa Valley winery.

“The winners have earned this status through their sheer commitment to producing wines of exceptional quality at a range of price points that are available to all the wine buying public,” Reed said.

The IWC has been running for over 26 years.