TAFE wine triumphs at the NSW Small Winemakers Wineshow

TAFE NSW Kurri Kurri's in-house wine label, Intuition, has won a Silver and Bronze medal at the recent NSW Small Winemakers Wineshow in Parkes.

The TAFE Intuition 2018 Shiraz took Silver in the Shiraz 2020 Vintage or Older category, and the 2023 Chardonnay Brut took Bronze in the White, Red or Rose Sparkling Wine ‐ Any Vintage category.

Jane Hoppe, Winemaking Teacher at TAFE NSW, said their success at the wine show is a proud moment for all the Diploma of Viticulture students.

"At vintage time each year, we bring in a few different batches of grapes and we encourage all students who might not have access to a winery in their workplace to come and be a part of the production of the wine.

"We assess our students during all these processes within the Diploma, but our onsite facility also offers them the direct hands‐on experience to be part of every stage of the winemaking process. From selecting the grapes, fermentation, clarification, fining, filtration, and lab analysis to bottling and tasting notes, students get a touch on every part of creating the end product.

"After the hands‐on process, we bottle the wine under our label, Intuition, and sell it on campus at our training restaurant. People can also order it online and we sell it at many of the other TAFE NSW hospitality training facilities throughout the state," she said.

Alastair Tringham is one of the TAFE NSW Kurri Kurri Diploma of Viticulture students who took part in creating the award‐winning vintages.

"It's fantastic to have a facility like the one at TAFE NSW Kurri Kurri that gives students real hands‐on experience with the winemaking process. We're also very lucky to have access to teachers with have extensive industry knowledge and experience," he said.

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