Australia’s first wine show dedicated to zero alcohol wine has crowned Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV as the best in the country.

The winners of the 2022 Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show were announced last night at an awards dinner and tasting at The KittyHawk in Sydney.

Tasting was held in May with five of Australia’s leading wine judges tasting through most of the zero alcohol wines currently available in Australia.

Forty-nine wines were judged in four classes with trophies awarded to the best wines in each class as well as for Best Winemaker and Best Wine overall.

Some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest wineries scooped the awards with trophies awarded to Jacob’s Creek and Wolf Blass. The only small winemaker to win a trophy was Sobriety Society, which was awarded the Best Chillable Red Trophy.

Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV won Best Wine and Best White Wine Trophies, while fellow New Zealand winemaker Giesen Group was named Best Winemaker.

“We are thrilled that our Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc was awarded the Best Wine and Best White Wine Trophies,” Ara said. “Just another reason to enjoy these delicious, zero alcohol wines, particularly leading if you’re planning on going dry for July.”

Judges included a panel included Chairman and leading winemaker PJ Charteris, winemaking consultant Mike DeGaris, Winepilot Publisher Angus Hughson, Solotel Group Beverage Manager Annette Lacey MW, Group Wine Ambassador Matt Dunne as well as renowned wine writer and judge Tony Love.

Founder Angus Hughson said: “Zero alcohol and low alcohol is the fast growing wine category and our judging showed that, at this moment in time, the larger wineries are leading the pack.

“It was also fascinating to see that some wine styles are better suited to zero alcohol than others and that some unusual styles, such as Sparkling Riesling, actually work very well in a zero alcohol context.

“Zero alcohol is a brave new world for the wine industry and offers the opportunity for winemakers to innovate, and potentially develop new wines that become best-sellers in local and export markets.”

The trophy winners were:

• Trophy for Best Wine – Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV
• Trophy for Best Winemaker – Giesen Group Ltd
• Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine – Jacob’s Creek Unvined Sparkling NV
• Trophy for Best White Wine – Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV
• Trophy for Best Chillable Red Wine – Sobriety Society Shiraz Tempranillo 2021
• Trophy for Best Red Wine – Wolf Blass Zero Shiraz 2021

A list of all the entries and awards can be found here.

The 2022 Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show was held thanks to the support of sponsors including Flavourtech, Plus & Minus, Sanector, Sans Drinks, Winesave, Kaddy, Ultra Labels and Denomination.

Pictured above: Ross Marshall – Managing Director, Fourth Wave Wine; Lexi O’Toole – Senior Brand Manager, Pernod Ricard Winemakers; Dan Chorley – Country Manager, Giesen Group; Chris Hatcher – Chief Winemaker, Wolf Blass.

Photography: Edgeline Photography.

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