Wine list awards to be hosted by Peter Marchant

Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards Ceremony will be hosted virtually on Monday, 29 November at 4.00pm AEDT with wine judge and Len Evans scholar, Peter Marchant set to MC the event.

Mr Marchant is an industry legend with a career that spans wine sales, service, restaurant management and ownership. He is currently The Wine Guy at Market Bistro + Wine Store in Maroochydore.

It is free to attend the ceremony which will be streamed via Facebook and features two new awards: the Australia’s Choice Award voted for by consumers, as well as the Best Wine List of under 200 Wines.

Organisers of the awards say they received a record number of entries this year with people grateful for the opportunity to support their favourite venues.

“Interestingly, given the experience of 2020, the average size of wine lists entered this year only declined slightly – down just 5 per cent across the country. Not surprisingly the new award category Best Wine List of under 200 Wines was a heavily contested award, with the judges noting how difficult it can be to craft a really good small list,” said  Chairman and founder of the awards, Rob Hirst.

The calibre of entries has impressed judges this year, he said.

“Our outstanding panel of judges is working their way through the record number of entries this year and have been blown away with the continuing standard plus the creativity and skill of sommeliers and owners – particularly where they have had to manage smaller, scaled down lists,” he said.

Drinks Trade is the official trade media partner of the event and Qantas Magazine has joined the event as the major sponsor for the first time this year.

“Together with the Drinks Association and our new awards consumer media partner – Qantas Magazine / Travel Insider – we want to focus on acknowledging and celebrating the best wine lists Australia has to offer, as we all do whatever we can to help our industry recover from what they’ve been through and blossom in 2022 and into the future,” said Mr Hirst. 

Register your interest in the event here https://fb.me/e/1p5s8CeC0 or simply tune in to watch and congratulate the winners as they are announced from 4.00pm (AEDT), Monday, 29 November.

2021 New Awards