Celebrate the diversity of Victorian wine at the Fed Square Wine Awards

Loosen your stelvins, pop your corks and pull out your decanters – the annual Fed Square Wine Awards are nearly upon us.

On Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 August, finalists of the Fed Square Wine Showcase series roll into town for a final wine tasting of their most outstanding vintages. Essentially a big cellar door on your doorstep, the Fed Square Wine Awards is a brilliant opportunity to come down, taste and sip Victoria’s best wine and take home a cheeky half dozen in your boot.

This year, the Fed Square Wine Awards has a stellar line up of judges, leading the discerning pack is Nick Stock editor of The Good Wine Guide 2012, presenter and award-winning wine writer. Other judges of distinction will include Jackson Watson, head sommelier at Taxi Dining Room; Ron Leslie, Committee Chair; Victoria Sharples from The Wine Station and Brett Snelson, Victorian winemaker.

Wines from the four corners of Victoria are competing for the title of ‘Best of the Best’. From the high planes of Mount Buffalo comes Eminence, a wine made in one of the coldest climates of Victoria, to the coastal air of the Bellarine Peninsula with fresh drops from Bellarine Estate. From the Grampians to the Yarra Valley, the Fed Square Wine Awards will present truly great Victorian wines of distinction, character and structure. The ‘Best of the Best’ from Victoria’s wine regions will be announced throughout the first evening, Wednesday 1 August, giving ticketholders the very first opportunity to take home bottles of the award-winning wines.

Says Nick Stock:

“The Fed Square Wine Awards brings a cross-section of Victorian wine right to the heart of the city and into Melbourne’s most stylish and iconic public space. It’s a celebration that showcases the uniqueness, the diversity and the quality that makes Victorian wine so interesting and appealing to locals and visitors alike”.

Says Eminence winemaker Clare Burden:

“The Fed Square showcase provides a unique opportunity to wine producers (especially those who don’t have a cellar door) to meet with the wine-drinking public. For me this is incredibly important as I can meet our customers, get feedback on the wines and introduce newcomers to the brand. Also it’s a great chance to taste the wines from our winemaking neighbours!”

Victoria has the largest number of wineries in Australia with some 11,736 people employed in 820 wineries across 21 wine-producing regions, each with some of the world’s best known and award-winning wine brands. What better place to savour these wines than in the grand glass Atrium of the iconic Melbourne precinct that is Federation Square.

Tickets for the Fed Square Wine Awards are $25 and can be purchased via Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au) or a limited number will be available at the door.

Where: The Atrium, Federation Square
When: Wednesday 1 + Thursday 2, August, 4.30pm – 8.30pm
Price: $25 via Ticketmaster (plus booking fee)
More Info: fedsquare.com/win

Attending Wineries: