The Grenache Shootout is an invitation-only wine show bringing together some of the best Grenache and Grenache blends from around Australia, sponsored by Wine-Ark and Plumm.
Wines were judged blind in three rounds with the top 12 wines from the First Round moving into the Semi-Final. The top 4 wines from the Semi-Final were then judged head-to-head in a Grand Final. The key element the judges were searching for were wines that are delicious to drink and demand a second or third glass.
The Grand Finalists and winning wines are:
Zonte’s Footstep Love Symbol Grenache 2019
Trophy – Wine of Show
Trophy – Best Grenache
Gold Medal
Grand Finalist
Check out the judges comments here.
Henschke Johann’s Garden 2017
Trophy – Best Grenache Blend
Gold Medal
Grand Finalist
Check out the judges comments here.
Serafino Wines Family Vineyards GSM 2019
Trophy – Best Value Grenache or Grenache Blend
Gold Medal
Check out the judges comments here.
Bondar Wines Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2019
Gold Medal
Grand Finalist
Check out the judges comments here.
Hentley Farm The Stray Mongrel 2019
Gold Medal
Grand Finalist
Check out the judges comments here.
Orlando Cellar 13 Grenache 2019
Gold Medal
Hentley Farm The Old Legend Grenache 2019
Gold Medal
Schwarz Wine Company
Gold Medal
The judging panel, chaired by Mike DeGaris, included a diverse range of wine professionals to provide a strong consumer focus, including top current and former sommeliers Matt Dunne, Melissa Moore and Simon Curkovic, retailer Jason Bower plus wine educator and corporate speaker Andrea Pritzker MW.
Chairman of Judges Mike DeGaris gave the following summary of the show “Being in the show system for quite some time we see a whole range of Grenaches but there is often not a whole lot of variability. I came into the shootout today not sure where it was going to go but I was pleasantly surprised. There were lots of delicious wines that we were looking at. There were technical, structural wines. There were wines with flavour. There were some really nice commercial entrants that the normal drinker could really get their head around and there were the high level wines. I think the trophy wines nail everything.”
Congratulations to all the wineries that entered and showcased the stylish and exceptional quality of Grenache now being produced in Australia.
