The Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology is one of the country’s leading industry organisations which focusses on keeping our winemakers and viticulturists ahead of international competitors through the sharing of knowledge and scientific research. Their annual Awards for Excellence salutes champions of our industry who often go unrecognised for their contribution to Australian wine. Last week this year’s award winners were crowned in Adelaide for their long and significant service.
Well known Vasse Felix Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock was awarded Winemaker of the Year for her longstanding service to Margaret River, both as an advocate of the region and unrelenting pursuit of greater refinement of winemaking techniques. Despite having received many awards previously, Virginia was particularly chuffed “In any industry, your peers are always the harshest critics; they have the deepest knowledge in the field. This award is from them, which is why no other award has ever meant quite so much.”
Dr Mardi Longbottom received the Viticulturist of the Year Award for her varied work on sustainability. Currently General Manager for Industry Development and Support at the AWRI and leading industry organisation Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, Mardi’s current research is focussed on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through various floor management techniques.
The Wine Science and Technology Award winner for 2024 is Dr Eric Wilkes who has been a scientist in the beverage industry since 1997 and for the last 13 years has been working at the AWRI, currently as the General Manager Affinity Labs and Regulatory Affairs. Eric’s areas of research include new methods for wine analysis, environmental impacts of wine production, wine stability, methods to determine authenticity and the impact of metals on wine development.
