Sweet Beginnings and Endings

Sunday, 16 June, 2013
Alex Burgener
In recent years Peter Gilmore’s Snow Egg and Adriani Zumbo's Croquembouche have highlighted to consumers that desserts aren’t just an ending to a meal but can have a whole story of their own. They can be just as interesting, complex and flavoursome as any savoury main course, and slowly the same message is being learnt about sweet wines.
The 2013 International Sweet Wine Challenge returns this week to once again showcase and inform about the diversity, quality and innovations of sweet wines. Australia’s leading wine show dedicated to the delights of non-fortified sweet wines, is inviting wine producers from all around the world to submit their wines into the awards from 14 June – 16 August, with judging taking place on 29 th August 2013.

The Judging Panel will again be led by Ben Edwards (President of Sommeliers Australia and contributor to Australia's best selling wine guide, the Australian Wine Companion), who will be joined this year by International Guest Judge Madeleine Stenwreth MW. Madeleine became one of the first Swedish Sommeliers in 1990 and since then her talented palate has seen her judge at wine shows around the world and achieve Master of Wine status in 2008.

Madeleine says, “The amazing diversity of sweet wines crafted in some of the greatest and most famous wine regions of the world is truly unique. It is however also a wine category which definitely deserves a lot more attention in order to make a revival possible! It is especially important during these times when all things sweet are equally banned from our dinner tables. This makes it even more important to educate and inspire the global wine drinker about the huge gap between consuming sweetness in its simplicity - and sometimes in a too evidently artificial state - and the sheer enjoyment of a natural sweet wine derived from grapes and bursting with personality and a great story to tell.”

This will be the 9th consecutive year the ISWC has been held in the Riverina and the founding aims of the awards remain the same, as Les Worland, President of the Riverina Winemakers Association, explains, “The International Sweet Wine Challenge was created to bring together the various styles of sweet wine from Australia and abroad in a region well known for the quality of its own sweet wines. We strive to promote the best wines within their style, and to raise greater understanding and awareness of sweet wines in general.

Last year’s challenge saw a very high standard of entries, with an increased quantity and quality of international entries. This year’s Challenge promises to be as keenly contested, with winning wines at the ISWC not only rewarded with Medals and Trophies, but also benefiting from a public relations campaign run by the ISWC, providing valuable editorial and advertising exposure in international and Australian wine and lifestyle publications.”

The Challenge is open to any non-fortified sweet wine that is commercially available in the country of origin, and holds a minimum stock of 50 case lots at the time of entry. There is also a separate Museum Class for wines five years or older, which are not commercially available, with the aim of this class to show unusual or rare styles. 10 Trophies are awarded in total – see full details at www.sweetwinechallenge.com.au

2013 International Sweet Wine Challenge
Entries open: 14 June – 16 August 2013 ... Entry Fee just AUS$30 per wine 
Judging: 29 August 2013
Results: 2 September 13
Award Presentations: 7 September 2013

Entry can be made on line at www.sweetwinechallenge.com.au
or by contacting Stuart McGrath-Kerr, Riverina Winemakers’ Association
P: +61 2 6964 3504

For media enquiries please contact Alex Burgener at Palate PR
E: alexburgener@palatepr.com.au