The winners of the 2018 Australian Women in Wine Awards have been announced today, Friday 16 November 2018 – at the largest ever gathering of Australian women in wine – in Sydney.
- Winemaker of the Year – sponsored by Tonnellerie Saint Martin
- Kate Goodman, Goodman Wines / Penley Estate
- Viticulturist of the Year – sponsored by Wine Australia
- Nicole Pitman, Kingston Estate
- Owner / Operator of the Year – sponsored by WineWorks Australia
- Sarah Marquis, Mollydooker Wines
- Workplace Champion of Change – sponsored by Winemakers’ Federation of Australia
- Lara Simic, Winestate Publishing
- Cellar Door Person of the Year – sponsored by Platinum Bags
- Janine Carter, Voyager Estate
- Researcher / Innovator of the Year – sponsored by Angove Family Winemakers
- Dr. Jacqui McRae, Australian Wine Research Institute
- Marketer of the Year – sponsored by Denomination
- Lynda Schenk – Purple Giraffe
- Woman of Inspiration – sponsored by Irvine Wines
- Tamara Grischy, Langtons
The awards ceremony this year took place as part of the first ever Australian Women in Wine Symposium and Awards Day, which was held on Sydney Harbour at Quay with over 100 attendees. The morning session preceding the awards, comprised of guest speakers and networking opportunities, followed by a convivial three course lunch with wines supplied by Henschke, Bremerton, Calabria Family Wines, Soumah and the Yarra Valley Wine Women (made up of Goodman Wines, Sutherland Estate, Helen & Joey, Yarra Yering, TarraWarra, Bird on a Wire, Yerinberg & Wantirna Estate) and Champagne from Ayala.
The awards ceremony was streamed live via the Australian Women in Wine Facebook page to viewers across Australia and around the world. Key figures from the global wine industry, including Jancis Robinson and Joe Fattorini, even participated in the day from abroad by sending in video messages of greeting and support.
From Sydney… to NEW YORK!
Today the AWIWA also announced that, in partnership with Wine Australia, the 2019 Awards will be held in New York on Tuesday 17th September as part of Aussie Wine Month, which is set to be the largest Australian wine promotion ever held in the USA. Further information about this will follow in coming weeks.
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 2018 Gold Partners
- Pernod-Ricard Winemakers
- Vintrace
- Cru
- Wine Business Magazine.
Silver partners this year included Riedel – who provided all winners with a commemorative engraved decanter – Barrel Finance & Logistics, Barraket Stanton & WineTitles Media.
Bronze partners were Hahn Corporation, Classic Oak Products, Four Winds Vineyard and CSIRO.
Please show your support for all our partner and category sponsor businesses in the coming year, as they are the visionaries who make these awards happen!
About the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA)
The Australian Women in Wine Awards – which are owned and operated by The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society – work to celebrate and reward the work of women in the Australian wine community, and community leaders who champion equality and fairness for all sexes in the workplace. The AWIWA, set up in 2015, are the world’s only awards program for women in wine. Previous winners include Prue Henschke (Viticulturist of the Year, 2016), Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix (Winemaker of the Year, 2017) and Iain Riggs, Brokenwood (Workplace Champion of Change, 2016).
