Young residents can take a sip of the fruits of the labours of local grape growers on Saturday September 24 at the public tasting of wines entered in the inaugural Hilltops Wine Show.
The wines were judged in Griffith in early September by judges at the NSW Regional Wine Show.
All Hilltops wine entered for judging will be available for tasting at the Young Town Hall between 4pm and 6pm on September 24.
Most of the local wine producers entered wines as well as wineries outside the Hilltops region which buy grapes from local vineyards and produce a Hilltops wine.
These include Hungerford Hill and Mistletoe Winery (Hunter Valley), Calabria Family and Paulazzo Wines (Griffith), Tertini Wines (Southern Highlands) and the Two Figs Winery (South Coast).
Tickets to this event are still available and can be purchased online (at Eventbite/Hilltops Wine Show) or from Gilberts (Boorowa St) at a cost of $20.
Entry at the door to the Town Hall will also be available and will cost $25.
A results booklet will be provided on entry to accompany the tasting.
At 5pm the winners of each section will be announced and the Peter Robertson trophy will be presented by a representative from McWilliams who are the major Wine Show sponsor.
Five local businesses each sponsored one of the category winners.
These are as follows:
· Best White Wine sponsored by Richard Mellish Insurance Services.
· Best Shiraz sponsored by Thompson’s Rural Supplies
· Best Cab Sav sponsored by Donges IGA
· Best Italian Varietal sponsored by Landmark
· Best Red Blend/Other Red Wine sponsored by Delta Agribusiness.
One of these winners will also be awarded the Peter Robertson Trophy for the ‘Hilltops Wine of the Year’.
The Peter Robertson Trophy was first presented in 2013 and was named to recognise the pioneering efforts of Peter Robertson who commenced wine making at Barwang in the early 1970s.
Since 2007 various methods have been used to determine the ‘Hilltops Wine of the Year’, including judging by Lester Jesberg, editor of WineWise Magazine, but 2016 marks the first opportunity for all Hilltops Wines to be judged in the one wine show.
For some years now Hilltops wines have been winning recognition and critical acclaim at a variety of wine shows around Australia and overseas.
Organisers hope the inaugural Hilltops Wine Show will provide locals an opportunity to taste the quality and variety of Hilltops wines.
Catering for this event will be provided by Cheryl Minehan of Wombat Pantry.
