Articles / NewsAustralia’s wine list of the year awards
Media Release, August 27, 2009The judges have voted and Australia’s best wine list of 2009 is to be found within the soaring walls of Sydney’s Rockpool Bar & Grill, the grandest ‘steakhouse’ this nation has ever seen and the visionary creation of Neil Perry and his partners, Trish Richards and passionate wine collector, David Doyle.
Rockpool Bar & Grill was declared the best of the best at the 2009 Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards presented last night at Studio Twenty4 in Sydney’s Walsh Bay by key partners, leading wine distributor, Fine Wine Partners and Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine, together with sponsors Acqua Panna, S.Pellegrino and Riedel.
The Awards which set the benchmark nationally, have been running since 1994 and seek to reward the passion and enormous time and resources required to develop quality wine lists. The world class Rockpool Bar & Grill list, presented in two volumes; one for white wines and one for red, has an incredible range of wines including rare collector’s wines worth tens of thousands of dollars. The wine team’s work was acknowledged with head sommelier, Sophie Otton receiving the Judy Hirst Award.
Presenting partners, Fine Wine Partners and Gourmet Traveller WINE were delighted to see a significant increase in entries for this year’s awards. ‘We were thrilled given the challenges of the current economic climate to see this growth and to see standards remaining so high,’ commented Judy Sarris, editor, Gourmet Traveller WINE.
Rob Hirst, Chairman of Fine Wine Partners, added, ‘As our national and international judges acknowledge Australia’s best wine lists are now world class and it is great that they are able to be recognised and rewarded here.’
The winning wine lists were spread around the country with NSW victories including Best International Hotel Restaurant List – Glass Brasserie, and Best Food & Wine Matching – Bilson’s. Victoria’s winners were Bistro Vue for Best Cafe/Brasserie List, RACV Members Dining Room – Best Club List, Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld – Best Country Restaurant List and La Petanque in Main Ridge – Best Regional List. South Australian restaurant Fino from Willunga was awarded Best Small List and Western Australia claimed two categories, Best Wine Bar List for Must Winebar and Best Pub Restaurant List for Settlers Tavern in the Margaret River. State winners were Rockpool Bar & Grill NSW, The Ginger Room ACT, Cru Bar & Cellar QLD, Vue De Monde VIC, Appellation SA, Must Winebar WA and Terrace Restaurant TAS. 2008 national winner, Taxi Dining joined Aria, Forty One, Asiana, Circa, the Prince, Syracuse, Walters Wine Bar in the Hall of Fame together with three time winners Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Healesville Hotel and Friends.
For the first time, wine lovers were invited to vote for the list that impressed them most, with the inaugural Gourmet Traveller WINE Readers’ Choice Award being presented to Sydney’s Wildfire. Fittingly, guests at the presentation were served an exceptional ‘list’ of wines with a choice from Brokenwood, Capel Vale, Henschke, Mitchelton, Petaluma, Rumball, Tatachilla, Villa Maria, Wither Hills with Mac’s Beer and Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino water, all served in fine Riedel glassware.
Rockpool Bar & Grill was declared the best of the best at the 2009 Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards presented last night at Studio Twenty4 in Sydney’s Walsh Bay by key partners, leading wine distributor, Fine Wine Partners and Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine, together with sponsors Acqua Panna, S.Pellegrino and Riedel.
The Awards which set the benchmark nationally, have been running since 1994 and seek to reward the passion and enormous time and resources required to develop quality wine lists. The world class Rockpool Bar & Grill list, presented in two volumes; one for white wines and one for red, has an incredible range of wines including rare collector’s wines worth tens of thousands of dollars. The wine team’s work was acknowledged with head sommelier, Sophie Otton receiving the Judy Hirst Award.
Presenting partners, Fine Wine Partners and Gourmet Traveller WINE were delighted to see a significant increase in entries for this year’s awards. ‘We were thrilled given the challenges of the current economic climate to see this growth and to see standards remaining so high,’ commented Judy Sarris, editor, Gourmet Traveller WINE.
Rob Hirst, Chairman of Fine Wine Partners, added, ‘As our national and international judges acknowledge Australia’s best wine lists are now world class and it is great that they are able to be recognised and rewarded here.’
The winning wine lists were spread around the country with NSW victories including Best International Hotel Restaurant List – Glass Brasserie, and Best Food & Wine Matching – Bilson’s. Victoria’s winners were Bistro Vue for Best Cafe/Brasserie List, RACV Members Dining Room – Best Club List, Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld – Best Country Restaurant List and La Petanque in Main Ridge – Best Regional List. South Australian restaurant Fino from Willunga was awarded Best Small List and Western Australia claimed two categories, Best Wine Bar List for Must Winebar and Best Pub Restaurant List for Settlers Tavern in the Margaret River. State winners were Rockpool Bar & Grill NSW, The Ginger Room ACT, Cru Bar & Cellar QLD, Vue De Monde VIC, Appellation SA, Must Winebar WA and Terrace Restaurant TAS. 2008 national winner, Taxi Dining joined Aria, Forty One, Asiana, Circa, the Prince, Syracuse, Walters Wine Bar in the Hall of Fame together with three time winners Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Healesville Hotel and Friends.
For the first time, wine lovers were invited to vote for the list that impressed them most, with the inaugural Gourmet Traveller WINE Readers’ Choice Award being presented to Sydney’s Wildfire. Fittingly, guests at the presentation were served an exceptional ‘list’ of wines with a choice from Brokenwood, Capel Vale, Henschke, Mitchelton, Petaluma, Rumball, Tatachilla, Villa Maria, Wither Hills with Mac’s Beer and Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino water, all served in fine Riedel glassware.
