Roseworthy trailblazer Pamela Dunsford awarded the Maurice O'Shea Award

The inaugural Australian Wine Industry Awards were hosted in Adelaide on Sunday evening where winemaker and consultant Pamela Dunsford OAM received the Maurice O’Shea Award in honour of her forty years of service to the industry. The new McWilliam’s Excellence in Action Award was awarded to the Australian Women In Wine Awards (AWIWA)and the award was accepted by its founder, Jane Thomson.

The Maurice O'Shea is given out once every three years and has an illustrious list of past winners attached to it including Robert Hill-Smith (2019), The Len Evans Tutorial (2016), Dr Peter Dry (2014) and The Australian Screwcap Initiative (2012).

Ms Dunsford said: “I’m honoured to be in the company of past winners of this award. I’ve always been pleased that I chose the profession of winemaking, rather than a lawyer or doctor, as the clients of my friends who are lawyers or doctors are unhappy to see them. But everyone is happy to see a winemaker.

“I want to pay tribute to the great Len Evans (always Mr Evans to me), a past winner of this award and who, in the late 80s, wrote a reference for me to Krug, which opened the doors of the Champagne houses to me, and of course, the rest of my story is now history.”

The award recognises Dunsford’s selfless contributions to the Australian wine industry spanning four decades in addition to blazing a trail for women in the wine industry, since first finding her passion for winemaking while studying at the University of Adelaide in 1973. Dunsford later became the first woman admitted to study Oenology at Roseworthy Agricultural College.

Her string of firsts also includes being the first female winemaker to become a wine show judge, the first female to hold an important winemaking position at a large company, one of the first women in the country to be a wine educator and consultant, and the first woman to be employed at vintage at the renowned champagne house, Krug. Her consulting work led her to Chapel Hill where she oversaw an impressive 19 vintages as Chief Winemaker.

Adrian Sparks, Chief Winemaker for Mount Pleasant Wines said: “Pamela’s dedication to the industry extends far beyond her direct contributions to her employment at some of Australia’s finest wineries. Without seeking reward or recognition, Pamela has given so much to the industry as a thought leader, educator, consultant, innovator and trailblazer. She wholly embodies what the Maurice O’Shea Award stands for and we are so honoured to celebrate her achievements at this special event.”

The other award of the night, the new McWilliam’s Excellence In Action Award was created by the owners of McWilliam’s Wines' new owners , the Calabria Family Wine Group in collaboration with Mount Pleasant. It will also be awarded once every three years and rewards the people or organisations tackling the key issues and challenges facing the wine industry for the betterment of the industry.

AWIWA founder Jane Thomson said: “It is a great honour to be the inaugural winner of this new and important industry award, and I want to thank McWilliam’s, the Calabria Family Wine Group and the judges.

“The AWIWA is enormously proud of the impact we have made on gender equality in our industry, but there is still so far to go. Whilst the wine industry is currently facing challenges on many fronts, this remains the issue of our time and we urgently need more resources, funding and energy to be directed towards increasing equality in the workplace for the betterment of the entire wine community.”

Ms Thomson's Fabulous Wine Society is back to hosting events around the country this year and we are eagerly awaiting news as to whether the AWIWA will also return in 2022.

Ms Thomson founded the awards in 2015 with the aim to support and mentor women, share experiences, encourage, inspire and action change. The awards play a critical role in recognising positive female role models and leaders in the sector, which the industry needs more of.

Sales & Marketing Director of Calabria Family Wine Group, Andrew Calabria said: “There was an incredible selection of finalists considered for this new award, but the action demonstrated by Jane and the wider Australian Women in Wine Awards Advisory Board in mobilising the community to celebrate and recognise the female leaders in our industry stood out in the final selection.

“Diversity, equality and fairness for all in the workplace is not a challenge isolated to just the wine industry, but it's one we recognise is moving in the right direction thanks to this incredible organisation and the work they do to inspire change across the category.”

The inaugural Australian Wine Industry Awards was presented at an invite-only ceremony and dinner at Aurora Restaurant in Adelaide. Leaders across the industry, media, producers and industry body representatives gathered to find out who would receive both awards on the night, followed by a special dinner matched with Mount Pleasant and McWilliam’s Wines.