Murrumbateman winemaker Four Winds Vineyard has taken out the the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards.

This is the first time Four Winds Vineyard has won this prestigious award and the first time it has been awarded to a wine produced from a Canberra District vineyard. 

In addition to the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy Four Winds Vineyard’s 2023 Shiraz won The Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz; The Douglas Seabrook Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine and the Best NSW/ACT Shiraz. The winery also collected the Kym Ludvigsen Trophy for Viticultural Excellence.

Melbourne Royal CEO Brad Jenkins said: “The Melbourne Royal Wine Awards celebrate excellence in Australian winemaking, and this has proudly been the case for over 140 years. 

“Judged by highly respected wine professionals, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards offer Australian winemakers the annual opportunity to have their wines benchmarked against their peers and receive valuable feedback from judges to improve quality and inspire innovation. 

“The trophy that Australian winemakers want to win is the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red Wine and this year we congratulate Four Winds Vineyard being crowned this year’s winner for their 2023 Shiraz. 

“Winning a trophy or a medal in the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards can be a game changer for a winemaker and winery, particularly the Jimmy Watson winner and we expect this will be the case for Four Winds Vineyard. The Melbourne Royal seal of excellence has significant cache in the wine industry and with consumers that offers unique marketing value to medal and trophy winners.”

Owners Sarah and John Collingwood (above) described the five wins as an incredible honour, particularly given the challenges Canberra District wineries have faced in recent years. The Collingwoods lost their 2020 crop due to bushfire smoke taint, followed by a series of weather events that impacted subsequent vintages.

“To win five awards is just amazing and totally unexpected. We’re delighted,” said Ms Collingwood.

“Winning the Jimmy Watson is something we have always aspired to and the other four awards are the icing on the cake.”

The 2024 trophy winners for the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards were announced at a luncheon on November 1 at Melbourne Showgrounds’ premier venue, Victoria Pavilion.   

This year, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards presented a total of 1222 medals, including 177 Gold, 316 Silver and 729 Bronze. The awards were judged by 35 accomplished wine specialists, who each sampled 100 wines on average per day over five days of judging. 

The Melbourne Royal Wine Awards provides a highly respected platform for wineries to benchmark their wines against industry standards and receive valuable feedback from a highly esteemed and independent panel of industry experts. 

Since its inception in 1883 with just 13 entries, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards have evolved into one of Australia’s oldest and most respected wine shows, now attracting over 2,300 entries from 450 wineries across the nation, ensuring its position as a barometer of excellence and innovation within the wine industry. 

Home Hill Wines from Tasmania was awarded The James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir for the Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2023.

The François De Castella Trophy for Best Young White went to Tolpuddle Vineyard from Tasmania, for the 2023 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay. The same wine has also been awarded Best Chardonnay and the Best Tasmanian Chardonnay. 

Brown Family Wine Group was awarded the Dr Tony Jordan Trophy for Best Sparkling for the Pirie Sparkling Vintage 2020.  

Chair of Judges Melanie Chester said: “The 2024 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards results demonstrate the enormous scope and strength of our proud winemaking heritage.” 

“Chairing the most prestigious wine awards in Australia is an incredible privilege. Along with my fellow judges, we sampled more than 2300 wines over five days. The experience cemented that Australian winemaking really is of a world-class standard.” 

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