By Amy Looker
Westend Estate Wines celebrated the 10th anniversary release of its iconic 3 Bridges Durif this week.
Winemaker and managing director, Bill Calabria, paid tribute to his family at an intimate gathering of wine media on Wednesday night, where the family launched the 2009 vintage of 3 Bridges Durif, which Calabria first made in 2000.
"In the early 90s, red wine was in high demand for export, so in 1994 I decided to start making serious red wines. I went to our growers and asked them to restrict water and fertilizer and to minimise spraying in a bid to reduce yields," Calabria explained.
"They thought I was mad but when I offered to pay the equivalent to the acre they agreed and we started to see some amazing fruit coming into the winery." [continues below]
Westend's Bill, Elizabeth and Andrew Calabria
Since its first vintage in 2000, the 3 Bridges Durif has become synonymous with the Riverina-based Westend Estate Wines, and has received more than 24 trophies, 49 gold medals, 36 silver medals and 36 bronze medals in the international wine show circuit.
Westend Estate has continued to see success across its portfolio, recently picking up the prestigious Stodart Trophy at the Royal Queensland Wine Show for its 2011 3 Bridges Cabernet Sauvignon.
In addition, Westend Estate winemaker, Bryan Currie, has been nominated as a finalist in the 2012 Australian Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year awards.