In the biggest show of recent years, the 2024 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show attracted 114 high-calibre entries with particular strengths in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There was a record haul of 53 medals, including 5 gold trophies, 14 gold, 15 silver and 24 bronze, awarded at the annual celebration held for 115 guests at Carrajung Estate, Willung South, on 17 October.

- Photos from the awards night below

- Full results - click for the 2024 results booklet

Congratulations to all our winners and their teams:

• Mark Heath and Jane Taylor of South Gippsland-based Gippsland Wine Company, which won the coveted Westpac Best Wine of Show, for the the 2023 Loch Chardonnay, which also won Top Gold and Trophy in the Best Chardonnay class (96 points). The trophy was presented by Westpac’s Irene Yu.

• Marcus Satchell, Lisa Sartori of Inverloch-based winery Dirty Three Wines took out the Best Red Wine of Provenance for the Dirty Three All The Dirts Pinot Noir 2019, 2022, 2023, presented by David Jones of Farmer’s Daughters restaurant.

• Rick Lacey of Phillip Island-based Purple Hen Winery, won the Best White Wine of Provenance for the Purple Hen Off Dry Riesling 2020, 2021, 2024, presented by Annette Went-Panozzo of Interpack.

• The Most Successful Exhibitor trophy was awarded to Lightfoot Wines, of Calulu, East Gippsland, and was presented by Fiona Weigall, CEO of East Gippsland Shire.

(See more pictures below)

There were five Gold trophies awarded, which won their class with Gold or Top Gold, each earning a nomination to be judged for Best Wine of Show:

• Ivy Huang and Adrian Critchlow of Carrajung Estate won Best Sparkling with a Gold medal (95 points) and Trophy for the Carrajung Estate 2020 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay. They were presented with the trophy - their first - by Kurt Best of Phillipson’s Accounting Services.

• Dirty Three Wines won Gold (95 points) and Trophy for the Best Aromatic with the Dirty Three 2024 “The Dirty Rizza” Riesling.

• In a category that had four gold medals, Gippsland Wine Company won Best Chardonnay with Top Gold (96 points) and Trophy for the 2023 Loch Chardonnay.
  

• The Best Pinot Noir was won by another first-time trophy recipient. Emily and Hercules Van Der Walt of Silverwaters Vineyard won with the Silverwaters Vineyard 2023 Pinot Noir, awarded Top Gold (96 points) and Trophy. This hotly-contested class is well suited to cool-climate Gippsland wines, and yielded five Gold and three Silver medals, presented by sponsor, David Morcom, CEO Wellington Shire.
  

• Rick Lacey of Purple Hen Winery won Best Shiraz with the Purple Hen 2023 Shiraz, awarded Top Gold (96 points) and Trophy, presented by Scott Rossetti of Gippsland Funeral Services. There were two further Gold medals in this class.

Honour for members

Wine Gippsland President Alistair Hicks presented the Eckersley Award for outstanding contribution to the Gippsland wine community, to Rick Lacey and Maira Vitols of Purple Hen Winery. Alistair and other wine producers spoke of Rick’s collegiate nature and his ongoing commitment to raising the quality of Gippsland wines, through learning, innovation, and sharing best practice.

Rick is known for his support and mentorship of winemakers and viticulturalists across the Gippsland wine community. He is a former President and longstanding committee member of the association. His passion for continuous improvement both in viticulture and winemaking, has helped and inspired many producers across the region. He has been instrumental in developing technical programs, such as the Chardonnay masterclass to raise the profile of Gippsland as a premium Chardonnay-producing region. Fellow winemakers spoke of the encouragement and inspiration that Rick has given them. Congratulations, Rick and Maira.

Our Sponsors

Wine Gippsland was delighted to have Westpac return as the lead naming rights sponsor for the show and Best Wine of Show.

Guests at the awards included representatives and sponsors from Wellington Shire, East Gippsland Shire, Bass Coast Shire, South Gippsland Shire and Baw Baw Shire, along with wine industry suppliers, regional businesses and other stakeholders involved in the food and drink sector.

We were honoured to have Wine Victoria CEO Stephanie Duboudin, Chair of Judges Sarah Fagan and Destination Gippsland Chair, Jan Fitzgerald, along with three Shire CEOs, attend the awards celebration.

The Judging was held on on 22-23 September at Cape Paterson Surf Lifesaving Club. Wine Gippsland again secured an independent and highly credentialled judging panel, led by Sarah Fagan of TarraWarra Estate, as Chair of Judges, with Julian Grounds (Stonier) and Jane Faulkner (Halliday) as judges, and Dominic Kearton (Triffid Wines) as associate judge.

Our sincere thanks to all our sponsors, both of the awards and auction items, for their support which allows Wine Gippsland to continue its non-profit work as a member-driven regional association, aimed at developing the quality and profile of Gippsland wines and the region, and their role in developing food+drink experiences to attract visitors to the region.

Major awards:

• Best Wine of Show (sponsor Westpac) - Gippsland Wine Company 2023 Loch Chardonnay

• Best Red Wine of Provenance (sponsor Farmer’s Daughters) - Dirty Three Wines All the Dirts Pinot Noir 2019, 2022, 2023

• Best White Wine of Provenance (sponsor Interpack) - Purple Hen Off Dry Riesling 2020, 2021, 2024

• Most Successful Exhibitor (sponsor East Gippsland Shire) - Lightfoot Wines

Best in Class winners:

Gippsland wineries and winemakers competed in 10 varietal classes. Trophies are awarded to those who won their class with Gold/Top Gold, making them eligible to be judged for Best Wine of Show.

Class 1: Best Sparkling (Trophy): Carrajung Estate 2020 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay (95 points)

Sponsor: Phillipsons Accounting Services

Class 2: Best Sauvignon Blanc: Purple Hen 2024 Sauvignon Blanc (90 points)

Sponsor: Monacellars

Class 3 (A, B, C) Best Aromatic White (Trophy): Dirty Three Wines 2024 “The Dirty Rizza” Riesling (95 points)

Sponsor: Bass Coast Shire

Class 4: Best Chardonnay (Trophy): Gippsland Wine Company Loch 2023 Chardonnay (96 points)

Sponsor: South Gippsland Shire

Class 5: Best Sweet White: Lightfoot Wines NV Darkfoot (90 points)

Sponsor: Coast Magazine

Class 6: Best Rosé: The Gurdies 2024 Honeyeater Rose (90 points)

Sponsor: Destination Gippsland

Class 7: Best Pinot Noir (Trophy): Silverwaters Vineyard 2023 Pinot Noir (96 points)

Sponsor: Wellington Shire

Class 8: Best Shiraz & Shiraz Dominant: Purple Hen 2023 Shiraz (96 points)

Sponsor: Gippsland Funeral Services

Class 9: Best Cabernet Sauvignon Varieties & blends: Purple Hen 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon (88 points)

Sponsor: Baw Baw Shire

Class 10: Best Other Red Varieties & blends: Lightfoot 2023 Minotaur (92 points)

Sponsor: Glasdec

The Awards Celebration

The Awards tasting and dinner celebration is a keenly anticipated annual event bringing winemakers, producers, sponsors and wine enthusiasts together. We thank the Events team at Cape Paterson Surf Lifesaving Club for looking after our judging. We also thank Carrajung Estate for a fantastic venue, food and service for the exhibitor tasting and awards night.

Below, are some of the images from awards and the earlier judging.

Send us your images from the event and we’ll add them here, on this page. Please share our page and your pics from the night - please tag @winegippsland

Please contact us on exec@winegippsland.com.au if you have any questions or would like more information about the Gippsland Wine Show and Awards.

Previous Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2023 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2022 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2021 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2020 Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2019 Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2018 Gippsland Wine Show results

• 2017 Gippsland Wine Show results