Winning wines matched with food
Louise Johnson
Sydney Opera House [©Tourism New South Wales]
Helping wine and food lovers gain confidence when selecting wines for the dining table is one of the main goals of the Sydney International Wine Competition.
In its 28th year, the competition differs from many others because finalists are judged alongside food. Entries are limited to just 2000 on a first come, first served basis, then wines are judged in varietal categories and the top 20 percent go through for grouping based on their palate weight – lighter, medium and fuller bodied dry whites and dry reds.
Competition director and founder Warren Mason says this allows the competition’s chef to create dishes that wines of these palate weights might reasonably be expected to compliment.
"For example, the lighter bodied dry whites are judged beside a light entrée style dish with natural, quite delicate flavours. In contrast, the fuller bodied dry reds are judged alongside a rich dish with concentrated, evolved flavours," he says. "We're tyring to get a balance between the weight of the wine and the palate weight of the food"
Mason says this style of judging and promoting wines will give people confidence in assessing good matches. He says it also promotes responsible drinking habits.
"As a host, if you're serving a wine matched with each of three courses, that's often as much as you need. People tend to drink less if there's an intellectual aspect to the selection of the wine," he says.
Wine matching in Australia has become increasingly difficult as the diversity of available cuisines increases.
"Europeans often drink the wine from the village and to some extent the food on the table is also the food of the region, so the wine and food marriage is made as a matter of course. But the sort of wine and food sophistication that is required with such a diversity of food available now means we have to exercise more intellectual selection, especially in Australia with the marriage of cuisines from Europe and Asia and our own traditioanl Australian food. There is a total diversity," he says.
SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION 2009 - Tophy Winners:
Best Australian Sparkling Wine – Apéritif Style - JANSZ TASMANIA PREMIUM VINTAGE CUVEE 2004
Best Sparkling Wine of Competition - JANSZ TASMANIA PREMIUM VINTAGE CUVEE 2004
Best Aromatic Wine of Competition - PALANDRI FRANKLAND RIVER RIESLING 2006
Best Sauvignon Blanc Wine of Competition - HUNTAWAY RESERVE MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008
Best Lighter Bodied Dry White Table Wine of Competition - BIMBADGEN SIGNATURE MCDONALDS ROAD SEMILLON 2006
Best Medium Bodied Dry White Table Wine of Competition - TE WHARE RA PINOT GRIS 2008
Best Fuller Bodied Dry White Table Wine of Competition - ROCKFIELD ESTATE RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2006
Best Still Rosé Wine of Competition - DAL ZOTTO ROSATO 2008
Best Pinot Noir Wine of Competition - DRUMSARA CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR 2007
Best Lighter Bodied Dry Red Table Wine of Competition - CORBANS PRIVATE BIN HAWKES BAY SYRAH 2005
Best Medium Bodied Dry Red Table Wine of Competition - EVANS & TATE “THE RESERVE” CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005
Best Fuller Bodied Dry Red Table Wine of Competition - KALGAN RIVER CIPRIAN SHIRAZ 2007
Best Dessert Wine of Competition - JOSEF CHROMY BOTRYTIS RIESLING 2007
Best Fortified Wine of Competition - MORRIS WINES OLD PREMIUM LIQUEUR MUSCAT
Most Successful Winery or Brand – 2009 Competition - KILIKANOON WINES
Wine of Outstanding Quality (except Champion or Reserve Champion) - JACOB'S CREEK 35TH ANNIVERSARY PADTHAWAY SHIRAZ 2005
Best Value Dry White Table Wine of Competition -DE BORTOLI SACRED HILL SEMILLON CHARDONNAY 2008
Best Value Dry Red Table Wine of Competition – joint winner - CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS “NINE LIVES” BAROSSA SHIRAZ 2007 and TAYLORS CLARE VALLEY SHIRAZ 2007
Best Table Wine Made from a Lesser Recognised Grape Variety - CHRISMONT LA ZONA ALBARINO 2008
Best Non-Australian Wine of Outstanding Quality - CHAMPAGNE LANSON BLACK LABEL BRUT NV
Best Red Table Wine of Competition - KALGAN RIVER CIPRIAN SHIRAZ 2007
Best White Table Wine of Competition - ROCKFIELD ESTATE RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2006
Runner-Up to Best Wine of Competition - ROCKFIELD ESTATE RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2006
Best Wine of Competition - JOSEF CHROMY BOTRYTIS RIESLING 2007
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