The team at Westend Estate Wines raised their glasses last night, in celebration of winning the coveted and very prestigious Stodart Trophy at the 2012 Royal Queensland Wine Show. As one of Australia’s oldest wine competitions – first staged in 1876 – and the first national show held in a capital city each year, the RQWS provides the platform for the nation’s best wine producers to reveal their new season’s vintage. 1,900 wines went head to head last week, being judged by a panel of senior professionals in the winemaking industry, all in a bid to be crowned Australia’s best wine.
Westend’s flagship brand, 3 Bridges was awarded the Stodart Trophy for its 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, being announced the ‘Best Gold Medal winning One Year Old Dry Red Table Wine’ – class 16. The Stodart trophy is recognised as one of the most prestigious and influential awards on the Australian wine show circuit and signifies the strength and testament of the Westend Estate portfolio.
The fruit for the 3 Bridges 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from the Riverina (60%) and Hilltops (40%) regions in NSW. The award is a very promising start for the wine, which is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year. Chief winemaker Bryan Currie was thrilled with the outcome; “This is history breaking for the Riverina region as the first Riverina based wine to win the award and showcases the winemaker’s skills coming from the difficult 2011 vintage. Very careful fruit selection and skilled winemaking has enabled Westend to make small parcels of fantastic wines from the cool vintage. The wine is fragrant with classic cassis fruit and fine grained tannins and will be keenly awaited when released later this year.”
The Stodart Trophy means an unbelievable amount to the winery and in particular Bill Calabria, who has always kept faith in the Riverina region, where he has been making wine for the past 49 years. “To be announced as the winner of the Stodart Trophy reinforces the winery’s position as one of the most respected and recognised wineries in Australia. I am so proud of Bryan and all my team, who have supported me in achieving not only this award but all accolades that Westend have received over the years. We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated and conscious team who take great pride in the Westend product.
For more information on Westend Estate Wines please visit http://www.westendestate.com/
Westend Estate Wines was established in 1945 by Italian immigrants Francesco and Elizabeth Calabria. Today the company is managed by the third generation of the Calabria family which now has interests in the Riverina, Hilltops and Barossa Valley wine regions. Westend Estate Wines is one of Australia’s great wine exports, winning the NSW Premiers Export Award in 2010 and 2011. Westend Estate wine products can be found in over 26 countries across the World.