By Andy Young
The Liquor Stores Association for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory has revealed the finalists in its 2016 Retail Liquor Industry Awards for Excellence.
The annual awards look to acknowledge and honour “the year-round efforts of those who go the extra mile to excel in the retail liquor industry”. This year the LSA has also finalised a partnership with the National Online Retailers Association (NORA), who will judge the Online Liquor Store of the Year category.
LSA Executive Director Michael Waters said: “The partnership signifies an important alliance for both organisations, and as the online liquor retailing segment continues to grow, so does this category of LSA’s membership, therefore we look forward to working with NORA, to continue to deliver improved service and value for our members and stakeholders.”
He added: “In the 20th annual year of these Awards, an unprecedented number of nominations across all categories from members and stakeholders were received, which was fantastic to see and on behalf of the Association, I take this opportunity to congratulate all our awards finalists.
“It’s great to see a number of fresh faces, across both retailers and supplier categories make the cut this year.
The winners will be announced at the LSA’s Awards Presentation Dinner, which takes place on Friday 18 November at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, with tickets available from the LSA NSW website.
Water added: “Our annual Awards Dinner continues to go from strength to strength, thanks to the support of our members and industry stakeholders, and I encourage those who have not previously attended to make the effort to come along, be proud and acknowledge the achievements of the people and companies in our industry, and enjoy delicious food, excellent beverages, fantastic entertainment and most importantly, great company.”
The finalists are:
2016 AWARDS FINALISTS – RETAILER CATEGORIES
Top 50 Liquor Stores:
| ALDI Vincentia | Express Liquor Newcastle |
| Amato's Liquor Mart | Gosford Drive Thru |
| Beer Cartel | Greystanes Cellars |
| Billabong Bottleshop | Lighthouse Cellars |
| Bondi Beach Cellars | Liquor Emporium Hurlstone Park |
| BottlO'Briens | Liquor Legends Charnwood |
| BWS Bateau Bay | Old Bar Cellars |
| BWS Ettalong | Pittwater Cellars |
| Cellarbrations Adamstown | Porter's Liquor Balgowlah |
| Cellarbrations Cammeray | Porter's Liquor Bexley |
| Cellarbrations Gunnedah | Porter's Liquor Hornsby Heights |
| Cellarbrations Lane Cove | Porter's Liquor Oatlands |
| Cellarbrations Stockland Baulkham Hills | Porter's Liquor Pyrmont |
| Cellarbrations Tamworth | Porter's Liquor Ryde / Midway Cellars |
| Cellarbrations Wadalba | Red Bottle Alexandria |
| Cellarbrations Warilla | Red Bottle Elizabeth Street |
| Chambers Cellars Avalon | Red Bottle Sussex Street |
| Chambers Cellars Bronte | Teralba Bottleshop |
| Chambers Cellars Emu Plains | The Bottle-O Gunnedah |
| Chambers Cellars Greystanes | The Bottle-O Hazelbrook |
| Chambers Cellars Pymble | The Bottle-O Lambton |
| Corkscrew Cellars Malabar | The Bottle-O North Haven |
| Dan Murphy's Bega | The Bottle-O Taree West |
| Dan Murphy's Kotara | The Bottle-O Wickham |
| Dan Murphy's North Wollongong | Vine, Providore of Fine Wine |
New Liquor Store of the Year:
- Cellarbrations North Ryde
- Chambers Cellars Clovelly
- Chambers Cellars McMahon's Point (Wines by Josh)
- Cutty Cellars Crows Nest
- Oldfield Cellars
Online Liquor Store of the Year:
- www.beercartel.com.au
- www.camperdowncellars.com.au
- www.danmurphys.com.au
- www.graysonline.com.au
- www.liquoremporium.com.au
- www.shortysliquor.com.au
- www.winesociety.com.au
- www.vinomofo.com
Liquor Store Owner of the Year:
- Dan Mackie, The Bottle-O Hazelbrook | Cellarbrations Lawson
- Paul Cains, Urban Cellars Curtin | Prohibition the Bottleshop
- Richard Kelsey & Geoff Huens, Beer Cartel
- Ross Rocca, Midway Cellars
- Steve Ververis, Liquor Emporium Group
Liquor Store Manager of the Year:
- Benjamin Abraham, Cellarbrations Warilla
- Bradley Ward, Dan Murphy's Double Bay
- Gary Metters, Corkscrew Cellars Sylvania Waters
- Hayley Pye, BWS Charnwood
- Jack Roberts, Prohibition the Bottleshop
- Joseph Sime, Liquor Emporium Hurlstone Park
- Simon Mackie, Cellarbrations Lawson
- Steve Nicholl, Chambers Cellars Greenwich
- Steven Dinnell, Midway Cellars
Excellence in Innovation:
- Cellarbrations Warilla
- Cutty Cellars Crows Nest
- Elizabeth Bay Cellars
- Liquor Legends Charnwood
- Oldfield Cellars
2016 AWARDS FINALISTS – SUPPLIER CATEGORIES
Beer Supplier of the Year:
- Asahi Premium Beverages
- Batch Brewing
- Carlton & United Breweries
- Coopers Premium Beverages
- 4 Pines Brewing
- Lion
- Phoenix Beers
- Stone & Wood
- Sydney Brewery
Wine Supplier of the Year:
- Accolade Wines
- Australian Vintage Limited
- Casama Group
- Casella Family Brands
- De Bortoli Wines
- Oatley Wines
- Pernod Ricard Australia
- Samuel Smith & Son
- Treasury Wine Estates
- Young & Rashleigh | Cuttings Wine Merchants
Spirits Supplier of the Year:
- Asahi Premium Beverages
- Brown-Forman Australia
- Campari Australia
- Cerbaco Distribution
- Coca-Cola Amatil
- Diageo Australia
- Pernod Ricard Australia
- Vanguard Luxury Brands
- William Grant & Sons
Services Supplier of the Year (non-beverage):
- Access All Areas Training
- DFK Crosbie
- Finn Foster APB
- Hatzis Cusack Lawyers
- JB Metropolitan Distributors
- Retail Systems Australia
- SAS Online
- Serve Legal
- Snack Brands Australia
- The Village Pantry
Banner Group of the Year:
- Cellarbrations
- Little Bottler
- Liquor Legends
- Liquor Stax
- Local Liquor
- Porter's Liquor
- Super Cellars
- The Bottle-O
Liquor Wholesaler of the Year:
- Australian Liquor Marketers
- Independent Liquor Group
- Novocastrian Wholesale Liquor
Beer Representative of the Year:
- Allison Berryman, Asahi Premium Beverages
- David Harrington, Asahi Premium Beverages
- Greg Carr, Carlton & United Breweries
- Jason Clement, Coopers Premium Beverages
- Jason Strong, Lion
- Marc Prince, Coopers Premium Beverages
- Phil Gibson, Coopers Premium Beverages
- Sarah Oxley, Asahi Premium Beverages
- Todd Robinson, Lion
- Trish Hardy, Coopers Premium Beverages
Wine Representative of the Year:
- Alex Shvetsoff, Samuel Smith & Son
- Ben Watters, Berton Vineyards
- Bernadette Weston, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Chris Harper, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Erin Baker, De Bortoli Wines
- Joanne Bennett, Treasury Wine Estates
- Michelle Seale, Casella Family Brands
- Rohin Rabbitts, Samuel Smith & Son
- Scott Dorman, Accolade Wines
- Wayne Starling, Young & Rashleigh | Cuttings Wine Merchants
Spirits Representative of the Year:
- Amanda Williams, Asahi Premium Beverages
- Ami Sheehan, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Brett, Martin, William Grant & Sons
- Daniel Harvey, Coca-Cola Amatil
- James Gilligan, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Kim Breust, Diageo Australia
- Paul Codner, Brown-Forman Australia
- Rodney Moore, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Russell Spurrell, Pernod Ricard Australia
- Shayne Silver, Vanguard Luxury Brands