We are thrilled to announce the finalists of the first ever Australian Women in Wine Awards.
Overall, the number and calibre of entries exceeded initial expectations, and the judges (made up of the members of the AWIWA Board) had their work cut out for them.
“Reading through the entries filled me with so much inspiration,” said Corrina Wright, CEO of Oliver’s Taranga and AWIWA Board member.
“What these awards have clearly demonstrated is that women are making a significant difference across the breadth of the entire wine community, and the business case for gender diversity has never been stronger.”
Samantha Connew, Owner of Stargazer Wine & AWIWA Board member said she was humbled to be involved in judging the success of such inspiring and talented women and is already looking to the future of these awards. “I’m excited about where the awards go to after this first year, particularly in the important ‘Champion of Change’ category as I know there are some leaders (both male and female) who are making a positive difference to those who are working for them and deserve to be recognised for this.”
The finalists in each of the four award categories are (in alphabetical order):
- Winemaker of the Year – sponsored by Wine Ark
- Eleana Anderson, Rose Kentish, Jo Marsh, Sarah Pidgeon
- Viticulturist of the Year – sponsored by Wine Australia
- Cath Kidman, Liz Riley, Irina Santiago-Brown
- Owner / Operator of the Year – sponsored by Cellarhand
- Sarah Andrew, Joanne Bradbury, Rebecca Duffy, Briony Hoare
- Workplace Champion of Change – sponsored by Vinomofo
- Dianne Laurance, Chris Pfeiffer, Dino Michelini
Awards Night
In what’s believed to be an Australian first, and in an effort to boost the reach and inclusiveness of these awards, the winners will be announced via a live stream broadcast on Tuesday 17 November at 7:30pm AEDT. Each wine region is being encouraged to host their own gathering to celebrate the announcement, and can register their event online via the awards website at http://womeninwineawards.com.au/events/. Events are already listed in Perth, Melbourne, Barossa, McLaren Vale, Strathbogie Ranges and the Hunter Valley. And it’s not too late to register more!
Sponsors
The Australian Women in Wine Awards would not be possible without the support of our individual award sponsors (as above) and partners – especially our Gold Partners: Wine Business Magazine, the Winemakers Federation of Australia and The Truffle Man.
