Wine educator Andrea Pritzker MW has been announced as the recipient of the Basil Sellers Prize for Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial for 2022.
This was the 20th anniversary of the Len Evans Tutorial, which has proved to be an invaluable training ground for its scholars many of whom have gone on to become wine show chairs, senior wine judges and industry leaders. Len Evans’ vision and legacy has been about increasing the skills (tasting, wine literacy, understanding of quality) of Australian wine professionals.
Highlights of this year’s tutorial included a masterclass of Cullen Wines Cabernets with Vanya Cullen including a Diana Madeline vertical from 2018 to 2001, the Evolution of Australian Chardonnay with Michael Hill Smith MW and a dinner bracket of 1965 Australian red wines including Lindemans Bin 3110, Hardy’s Private Bin Burgundy 633, and Penfolds St Henri Claret.
Friday’s session always concludes with a masterclass of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and this year seven wines were tasted blind.
Chair, Iain Riggs AM, said: “Andrea is a very worthy winner as she excelled in all aspects of this week’s judging, masterclasses. and written exercise. Andrea was the top performer across the written exercise and the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti tasting.”
Basil Sellers AM, Patron of the Len Evans Tutorial added: “The Tutorial is important as one of its goals is to encourage winemakers to strive to further improve the quality of Australian wine.”
The 20th Tutorial also marked a change of guard with an expanded group of national tutors including Chair Iain Riggs AM, Michael Hill Smith AM MW, Sarah Crowe, Sam Connew, Tyson Stelzer, Philip Rich, Tom Carson, Randall Pollard, Vanya Cullen, Dave Brookes, Patrick Walsh, Amanda Yallop, Jim Chatto, Mike De Iuliis, Stuart Hordern, Liz Silkman, Adam Wadewitz and Sue Bell.
240 scholars have now graduated from the Tutorial over two decades and this year included:
- Frank Butera, Bass River, VIC
- Andrew Duff, Tempus Two, NSW
- Penny Grant, Shaw + Smith, QLD
- Ben Harris, Wynns Coonawarra Estate, SA
- Erin Larkin, Wine writer, WA
- Dylan McMahon, Seville Estate, VIC
- Genevieve Mann, Corymbia Wines, WA
- Ed Merrison, Vininspo, VIC
- Ben Mullen, Mulline, VIC
- Tim Pelquest-Hunt, Pernod Ricard Winemakers, SA
- Andrea Pritzker MW, Educator, NSW
- Nadja Wallington, ChaLou Wines, NSW
Andrea, who became a Master of Wine in 2015 and now works as a wine educator in Sydney, will fly Business Class to Europe with Len Evans Tutorial sponsor, Singapore Airlines, to visit some of the most famous wine producing regions and producers in the world.