The 2015 Wine Communicator of the Year Awards have attracted record entries, with particularly strong interest in the digital media and new wine educator categories.
“It is a great result and shows that the awards are very much in step with the industry,” said WCA Chair Angus Barnes. “Digital media and education are crucial to telling the modern story of Australian wine, but there is always a place for great writing, insightful commentary and technical expertise.”
The finalists in seven of the eight categories were announced today. Finalists in the Gourmet Traveller WINE / WCA New Wine Writer Award will be announced next week.
The eight winners, along with the overall WCA Wine Communicator of the Year, will be revealed at a gala event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on Tuesday 10 November.
The finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
- Digital Communicator of the Year (sponsored by the drinks association): Cake Wines; Samantha Payne; Tyson Stelzer; The Wine Wankers
- Best Wine Publication – trade or consumer (sponsored by Pernod Ricard Winemakers): Alquimie; Gourmet Traveller WINE; St Hallett Stories
- Best Wine Website or App (sponsored by Blacksquare): Gourmet Traveller WINE Digital; Winesource
- Best Published Feature Articles or Wine Column (sponsored by Treasury Wine Estates): Max Allen; Andrea Frost; Jeni Port
- Best Wine Educator (sponsored by Halliday): Clive Hartley, Sydney Wine Academy; Jenny Polack, Wine Whitch; Wine 101x, University of Adelaide;
- Best Wine Book – trade, technical or consumer (sponsored by Calabria Wines): The Wine Guide 2015 by Huon Hooke; The Wine Annual by Jeremy Oliver; and Vintage Tasmania by Tony Walker.
- Best Trade or Technical Wine Writer: Peter McAtamney; Richard Smart.
Mr Barnes said the quality of entries in most categories had been outstanding, showcasing work from a wide array of writers, website designers, wineries, wine businesses and wine communicators.
“There are some familiar names and some new ones, and our judges were struck by the originality of much of the work,” he said. “We had 12 judges on four separate panels and they really had their work cut out for them.”
More details, including judges’ comments on each of the finalists, can be found on the WCA website here.
Information and tickets for the awards presentation in Sydney can be found here.
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