With two weeks to go before entries close in the 2017 Australian Women in Wine Awards, Jancis Robinson has called the awards “seriously worthwhile” and has said that the Australian wine industry historically “may have been a bit backward” in terms of gender equality.
Speaking about her involvement as a sponsor of the awards this year, Ms Robinson – who is arguably the world’s leading wine critic – made mention of her very first visit to Australia and the impact it had on her.
“For obvious reasons, I have long championed the cause of women in the wine industry and remember thinking on my first visit to Australia when Pam Dunsford of Chapel Hill was introduced as the country’s only woman winemaker that Australia may have been a bit backward in this respect.”
She says she is delighted to see that things are so much better now. “I am keen to do my bit to celebrate this fact by sponsoring the Owner / Operator category of the seriously worthwhile Australian Women in Wine Awards. As very much an owner operator myself for the last 17 years – of JancisRobinson.com – this seemed a no-brainer.”
Ms Robinson will be presenting the Owner / Operator of the Year Award in person at the 2017 Australian Women in Wine Awards, which this year will be taking place at Australia House in London on 26 September in conjunction with Wine Australia. Almost 60 women in wine from Australia will be flying over to participate in a grand tasting event in which the awards ceremony will take place. The awards ceremony will be live-streamed on the internet at 8pm AEST / 10am GMT.
The award categories are:
- Winemaker of the Year – sponsored by WineArk
- Viticulturist of the Year – sponsored by Wine Australia
- Owner / Operator of the Year – sponsored by JancisRobinson.com
- Workplace Champion of Change – sponsored by Winemakers Federation of Australia
- Cellar Door Person of the Year – sponsored by Platinum Bags
- Researcher of the Year
- Marketer of the Year (NEW) – sponsored by Brown Brothers
- Woman of Inspiration (NEW) – sponsored by Irvine Wines
This year’s Gold Partners are:
- Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch
- Pernod-Ricard Winemakers
- Tonnellerie Saint Martin
- Wine Business Magazine
Entries close in two weeks time on Tuesday 1st August http://womeninwineawards.com.au.
