01 Feb 2020
Entries for the 2024 AWLOTY Awards are now open!
Download media release here
Entries are now open and sommeliers and business owners have until Monday 9th March 2020 to submit their lists to the judges – entries close on 9th March 2020.
With the 30-strong judging panel including highly respected local and international Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, wine communicators and previous award winners plus Sommeliers Australia representatives assessing each year’s lists – this is the award to win for Sommeliers and Owners – Restaurateurs, Hoteliers, Club and Wine Bar Managers – large and small.
Lists are ranked with one to three glasses. The best of the best are then in contention for the highly prized Category awards. In addition to best list in the country and best in each state, entrants can also submit their lists in a diverse range of categories including geographical and venue type as well as special categories such as best listings of wines by the glass, best food and wine matching, beverage specialities and lists showcasing states or regions .
Since the awards were first established in 1993 by Rob and Judy Hirst and Tucker Seabrook, the quality of Australian wine lists has grown in line with the quality of the exceptional cuisine now offered across Australia’s restaurants, wine bars, hotels, clubs and pubs.
This unprecedented growth in the quality of Australia’s wine lists is reflected in the results now being achieved by the Awards entrants – from 9 x three glass lists in 1994 to 148 x three glass lists in 2019 – an enormous leap!
According to Rob, the most popular award category at last year’s 2019 awards was again Best Wine by the Glass List. “This was followed by Best Matching of Food and Wine – reflecting again the ever closer liaison now occurring between sommeliers and chefs. These categories were closely followed in popularity by Best Listing of a Regions Wines and Best Listing of Australian Wines showing the desire to showcase the exciting work of local producers alongside imported wines and spirits”.
To see the 2019 winners and download some of their winning lists, go to the News section at winelistoftheyear.com.au. Entries will be open here from 1st February 2020.
Thanks to the wonderful support of Venue Partner Vintec/Electrolux, this year’s Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards Presentation Ceremony will once again be hosted in their Sydney showrooms.
Key partners for 2020 are the Awards ConsumerCommunications Partner, Australia’s leading wine and drinks magazine Gourmet Traveller WINE, and Trade Communications Partner the Drinks Association, the pre-eminent supplier of information and services to the Australian Liquor Trade.
Gourmet Traveller WINE returns as official Consumer Communications Partner to the Awards and will feature the restaurants and bars that achieve favourable results in both the print and digital editions of the August/September edition of Gourmet Traveller WINE. “As always we look forward to showcasing venues, big and small, that achieve 1,2, or 3 glass ratings in the Gourmet Traveller WINE digital edition and on our website, providing a valuable and much-used guide to good drinking for both locals and OS visitors throughout the year.” says Editor Judy Sarris.
In addition, the Drinks Association will also return as the official Trade Communications Partner of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards. “Our mission is to inform, strengthen and connect the Australian drinks industry and this event is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of sommeliers and venues throughout Australia. We look forward to toasting the winners and sharing their stories in Drinks Trade magazine and via our digital media platforms,” says Georgia Lennon, CEO, The Drinks Association.”
AUSTRALIA’S WINE LIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS – 2020 KEY DATES:
ENTRIES OPEN: 1st February, 2020
ENTRIES CLOSE: Monday 9th March 2020
AWARDS PRESENTATION: Monday 27th July 2020
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR IMAGES PLEASE CONTACT:
Rob Hirst, Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards
Ph: 0416011838 E: rob.hirst@tuckerseabrook.com
Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards – winelistoftheyear.com.au
