Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland
The Honourable Tim Mulherin

Friday, October 23, 2009

QLD WINES WIN FIVE GOLD MEDALS AT NATIONAL SHOW

23 October 2009

QLD WINES WIN FIVE GOLD MEDALS AT NATIONAL SHOW

Five Queensland wineries were awarded gold medals at the prestigious Australian Small Winemakers Show in Stanthorpe on Wednesday night.

They were:

• Witches Falls Winery, Mount Tamborine, 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Bortrytis
• Golden Grove Estate, Ballandean – 2008 Malbec
• Lucas Estate, Severnlea – 2008 Estate Shiraz
• Lucas Estate, Severnlea – 2008 Petite Verdot
• Mount Tamborine Vineyard & Winery – 2007 Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon

Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin congratulated the five winners as well as 15 silver and 80 bronze medallists.

“Queensland won two more medals than last year which reflects the fantastic quality of Queensland wines and the recognition they are now receiving,” he said.

“This is the largest wine show in Australia for wine producers producing less than 500 tonnes of grapes per year and is well supported by wineries from all regions in Australia and New Zealand.

“This year 1,812 wines were entered by 371 exhibitors.

The show is all about helping to foster winemaking skills in small wineries and providing smaller operators with opportunities to show their products and compete on a level playing field with the bigger wineries.”

Mr Mulherin also congratulated Louise Samuel from Lucas Estate at Severnlea for her wins which included the Technical Excellence Award sponsored by the State Government.

“I understand this was a particularly emotional evening for Ms Samuel who lost her husband Colin Sellers last year,” he said.

”The shiraz was the last wine that Mr Sellers produced.”

Ms Samuel can choose between a $3,000 cash prize towards education or equipment to increase technical winemaking expertise or the opportunity to undertake an advanced wine development course at the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Mr Mulherin said the Queensland wine industry was in excellent shape despite the global economic downturn.

“The Queensland Government has been supporting industry development over the past five years through a series of strategies designed to continue to increase sales and enhance skills development across the entire Queensland wine industry,” he said.

“I have every confidence that the industry will continue to flourish and that next year’s results will be even better, based on the talented grape growers and winemakers we have here in Queensland.”

Media: Matt Watson 3239 3120

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