Zonte’s Footstep Love Symbol Grenache 2019 has been named the The Grenache Shootout Wine of the Show and Grenache of the Show at the inaugural 2020 Winepilot Grenache Shootout.

Judges tasted 52 Grenache and Grenache-dominant blends in their search for the best grenache in Australia, with a specific focus on consumer appeal. 

Trophies were also awarded to the Henscke Johann’s Garden 2017 for Best Blend of Show and Serafino Wines Family Vineyards GSM 2019 for Best Value Grenache of Show.

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. Other Grand Finalists included Bondar Wines Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2019 and Hentley Farm The Stray Mongrel 2019. 

The judging panel, chaired by Mike DeGaris, included a diverse range of wine professionals to provide a strong consumer focus. Included were top current and former sommeliers Matt Dunne, Melissa Moore and Simon Curkovic, retailer Jason Bower plus wine educator and corporate speaker Andrea Pritzker MW. Judges tasted a total of 70 wines over four sessions and six hours with the aim to eliminate palate fatigue and foster high quality judging.

Chairman of Judges Mike DeGaris said: “Being in the show system for quite some time we taste a range of Grenaches, but there is often not a whole lot of variability. I came into the shootout not sure where it was going to go but I was pleasantly surprised. 

“There were lots of delicious wines. There were technical, structural wines. There were wines with flavour. There were some nice commercial entrants that the normal drinker could get their head around and there were the high level wines. The trophy wines nail everything.”

Winepilot Founder Angus Hughson added: “The Grenache Shootout was about bringing together some of the best Grenache and blends in the country, with a distinct focus on consumer rather than trade tastes. 

“I could not be happier with what Mike DeGaris and the judges have pulled out from the 52 wines that were hand-chosen by our team to compete in this event; from juicy, early-drinking styles to more serious and savoury wines. This is the first of many Winepilot Shootouts that focus on finding the best and most delicious wines for the Australian wine drinking consumer.” 

A full list of results can be found here.