Wine
Bass Coast winemakers were celebrated at the 2024 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show on October 17.
Silverwaters Vineyard took the gold for the Best Pinot Noir, while Purple Hen Wines picked up multiple awards, including for outstanding contribution to the local wine community.
Dirty Three Wines again picked up several awards.
In the biggest show of recent years, the Wine Show attracted 114 high-calibre entries with particular strengths in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There was a record haul of 53 medals, including five gold trophies, 14 gold, 15 silver and 24 bronze.
Emily and Hercules Van Der Walt of Silverwaters Vineyard were thrilled to walk away with their first trophy, Top Gold (96 points) for Best Pinot.
Marcus Satchell and Lisa Sartori of Inverloch-based winery Dirty Three Wines took out the Best Red Wine of Provenance for the Dirty Three All The Dirts Pinot Noir 2019, 2022, 2023.
Dirty Three Wines also won Gold (95 points) for the Best Aromatic with the Dirty Three 2024 "The Dirty Rizza" Riesling.
Outstanding contribution
Rick Lacey of Purple Hen Winery won the Best White Wine of Provenance for the Purple Hen Off Dry Riesling 2020, 2021, 2024 and Best Shiraz for the Purple Hen 2023 Shiraz.
Lacey and Maira Vitols were honoured with the Eckersley Award for outstanding contribution for the benefit of the Gippsland wine community.
Wine Gippsland President Alistair Hicks presented the Eckersley Award speaking of Rick's collegiate nature and his ongoing commitment to raising the quality of Gippsland wines, through learning, innovation, and sharing best practice.
"Rick is known for his support and mentorship of winemakers and viticulturalists across the Gippsland wine community," Alistair said.
"He is a former President and longstanding committee member of the association. His passion for continuous improvement both in viticulture and winemaking, has helped and inspired many producers across the region.
"He has been instrumental in developing technical programs, such as the Chardonnay masterclass to raise the profile of Gippsland as a premium Chardonnay-producing region."
Full list of winners: www.winegippsland.com/2024-gippsland-wine-show