By Ian Neubauer
A lawyer and champion racehorse breeder who owns a Hunter Valley winery was yesterday (October 21) awarded the 2008 NSW Wine of the Year.
Brian Agnew — breeder of 1992 Melbourne Cup winner Subzero and former chairman of Moray & Agnew Solicitors — won the inaugural award for his 2006 Audrey Wilkinson Hunter Valley Museum Reserve Semillon.
The award was announced at the 2008 gala NSW Wine Awards Presentation Dinner at the Coast Restaurant in Sydney last night. It coincides with an ongoing campaign by NSW Wine to make consumers more aware of the state’s viticultural wealth.
The awards attracted more than 800 entries that were judged over two days by a panel of 23 wine experts chaired by Lester Jesberg and seconded by Huon Hooke.
Other notable winners include the 2008 Chaler’s Crossing Hilltops Riesling, the 2007 Mistletoe Hunter Valley Reserve Chardonnay, the 2001 Coolangatta Estate Shoalhaven Semillon and the 2007 Swinging Bridge Cowra Shiraz.
The award ceremony was followed today with NSW Wine @ Wharf 8 — a public tasting featuring trophy winners, the top 40 wines and the opportunity for consumers to meet the winemakers.
“The 2008 NSW Wine Awards and NSW Wine @ Wharf 8 are fantastic initiatives that help bolster the profile of the state’s $2 billion wine industry,” said NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald. “The NSW Government is a proud partner of this initiative.”