Yarra Yering's Sarah Crowe named winemaker of the year

Yarra Yering’s Sarah Crowe was named Winemaker of the Year and Nick Dry was named the Viticulturist of the Year at the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) on Wednesday evening.

It is impossible to think of the award winning winery, Yarra Yering, without thinking of Sarah Crowe who joined the team over a decade ago, in 2013, to focus on one single iconic vineyard site. She is now Winemaker and General Manager of the winery.

Crowe has previously been named both Gourmet Traveller Wine and James Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year while the winery has been named James Halliday’s Winery of the Year and awarded Wine of the Year also by Halliday. It has also been named Winery of the Year by Huon Hooke's The Real Review. All on Crowe’s watch.

She is committed to the Australian wine industry, a respected judge and leader and she sits on the Len Evans Tutorial Board.

Crowe said:  “It is a great honour to be named ASVO Winemaker of the Year for 2022. Previous award winners and finalists include many of my mentors, Australia’s finest winemakers and good friends. These are all talented people who selflessly share their knowledge for the greater good of our industry and their local communities.

“I hope to be known as someone who also contributes to enhancing the fabric of our industry alongside them. We are a small vineyard and work within in a small but dedicated team at Yarra Yering and therefore this recognition from the broader wine community is heart-warming and industry participation will remain a priority of mine.”

Nick Dry is a well-known name in Australian viticulture having spent over 20 years working with grapevine rootstocks. He was awarded the Gourmet Traveller Wine Viticulturist of the year in 2019 and is currently engaged by Wine Australia as the National Grapevine Collection coordinator.

“It’s a proud and humbling moment to be nominated and ultimately win this award. Bringing the National Grapevine Collection to fruition is a culmination of learning through many phases of my career. I’m excited to be able to promote the message and objectives of what should be an integral part of Australian plant health integrity in years to come and provide security for our industry,” he said.

Finally, the newly introduced Wine Science and Technology Award went to Development Officer for the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Darren Fahey for his years of work in the wine science and technology space for the betterment of the industry.

“I’m thrilled to receive the inaugural ASVO Wine Science and Technology Award. However, in my mind the real winners are the growers and winemakers who have listened and learned along the way. Based off the many trials, workshops and masterclasses that the team and I have delivered over the years while working at NSW DPI, growers and winemakers have implemented and changed practices to benefit their businesses, their environment and the wine industry,” he said.

The full list of ASVO Award categories and winners are as follows:

·      ASVO Viticulturist of the year                          Nick Dry, Foundation Viticulture

·      ASVO Winemaker of the Year                          Sarah Crowe, Yarra Yering Vineyard

·      ASVO Wine Science & Technology Award      Darren Fahey, DPI, NSW

·      ASVO Viticulture Paper of the Year                 Matthew Ayres, SARDI

·      ASVO Oenology Paper of the Year                  Dr Marcos Bonada, SARDI

·      ASVO Dr Peter May Award                              Dr Sarel Munitz, Carmel Wines, Israel

Prue Henschke and Russell Johnstone were named ASVO Fellows for their particularly outstanding contribution to the grape and wine industry and to the Society itself.

 “The selection of Fellows was particularly difficult this year because of the extremely high calibre of candidates within the ASVO membership”, said Ms Howell. “The collective wisdom that both these individuals encapsulate is extraordinary as is the diversity of their background and experience.”