Australia’s Best New Wine List – the Tony Hitchin Award
Inaugurated in 2001, this award is named in memory of founding judge and respected wine writer, the late Tony Hitchin. Any licensed on-premise establishment that has been operating for 12 months or less is eligible for this award.
Australia’s Best Wine List – Maximum 50 wines
For establishments that list no more than 50 wines, this award focuses on carefully thought-out, impeccably balanced, compact lists.
Australia’s Best Wine List – Maximum 100 wines
For establishments that list no more than 100 wines, this award also focuses on carefully thought-out, impeccably balanced, slightly larger lists.
Australia’s Best Wine List – Maximum 200 wines
As the average of most award winning wine lists entered in the Awards is over 200 wines, this award caters for the change that has taken place in businesses due to COVID-19 and the trimmed-down nature of wine lists and cellars of the future. The Awards will now recognise those venues listing less than 50, 100 and 200 wines.
Australia’s Best Food & Wine Matching List
An important part of being a sommelier is working with the chef to create food and wine matches that tantalise diners, transforming both the chosen wine and the dish in ways that make for a memorable dining experience. This award allows wine lists which dare to match food and wine to be rewarded. The judges expect that entrants will focus attention on a degustation menu where each dish is matched with an appropriate wine.
Australia’s Best Non-Alcoholic List
The award covers still and sparkling waters, mocktails, soft drinks, teas and increasingly juices and infusions. Judge, Mike Bennie, comments that, in many places, juices, kombuchas and bespoke soft drinks are created by the sommeliers, in close alliance with the kitchen. They steep, juice, pickle, cure and squeeze to get their final results which can add an almost precise texture, flavour and aroma to dishes.
Australia’s Best Listing of Wines by the Glass
The judges are looking for the establishment with the most imaginative and thoughtful collection of wines by the glass. A list that offers depth and breadth as well as an insight into the quality of the restaurant’s overall offering. Size of pour also plays an integral part in this award.
Australia’s Best Champagne List
A great Champagne list will be appropriate to the style and size of the restaurant which it serves. The various categories of Champagnes need to be considered – vintage, non-vintage and deluxe; rosé, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, sans dosage; Champagnes from the Grand Marque houses and from growers. The key is balancing these categories as well as what is available by the glass and by the bottle; youthful and aged bubblies; well-known houses and cutting edge producers.
Australia’s Best Sparkling List
The judges are looking for the list which offers the most interesting array of sparkling wines from Australia and around the world. The winner is likely to offer depth in its presentation of local bubblies – including vintage, non-vintage and roses and sparkling wines that have spent considerable time on lees. The best lists will showcase a breadth of bubblies from around the world.
Australia’s Best Aperitif List
There’s a wide-range of alcoholic beverages that are designed to whet the appetite: Champagnes and sparkling wines, cocktails and beers. Sherries (especially fino, manzanilla,and amontillado), vermouths, pastis and herb-flavoured liqueurs.
Australia’s Best Digestif List
Digestif are served after the meal to aid digestion. The possibilities are wide-ranging and include brandy, eaux de vie, bitter or sweet liqueurs and other distilled liquors, fortified wines such as port, and madeiras and spirits such as gin, vodka, tequila, cognac, bourbon, whisky, whiskey, rum, cachaça, armagnac, grappa, pisco and calvados.
Australia’s Best Cocktail List
Australians are seeking out and enjoying delicious cocktails made by our world class bartenders. A quality list will include classics, and/or subtle twists, alongside innovative creations showcasing local and seasonal ingredients. The design and layout of the list, including storytelling, as well as the commitment to sustainability are also key.
Australia’s Best Beer List
Whether on tap or available by the glass, every good restaurant will carry a good range of local beers as well as a clever selection of imported beers.
Australia’s Best Listing of a Single Region’s Wine
There is interest, like never before, in regionality. Much work has been done over the past decade to define and market the distinctive wine styles from particular wine regions, both Australian and international. Here the judges are looking for wine lists, or sections of wine lists, that provide a comprehensive insight into a wine region. The classiest regional lists will focus predominantly on the varieties that the region does best and will offer some of the finest vintages.
Australia’s Best Listing of Australian Wines
This award places local wines in an international context; showcasing our finest varietals, varietal blends; single site, regional and multi-regional blends; highlighting our finest young wines as well as offering more mature vintages to show how well these can age as well as presenting wines that offer excellent value for money at a range of prices.
Australia’s Best Listing of ACT Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of the Australian Capital Territory whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of NSW Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of New South Wales whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of SA Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of South Australia whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of QLD Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of Queensland whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of TAS Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of Tasmania whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of VIC Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of Victoria whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Listing of WA Wines
Similar to the Best Listing of Australian wines, this award recognises the wines from regions of Western Australia whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity of that state, what it does well, in addition to what it is seeking to explore and branch out into.
Australia’s Best Japanese Sake List
Japanese Sake (Nihonshu) can fit all the different stages of the meal, and the best lists will be based on quality, style, regional and brand recognition and have varied styles such as sparkling, grade of Sake (Futsushu, Honjozo, Junmai, Ginjo: non-Junmai or Junmai and Daiginjo: non-Junmai or Junmai), first fermentation method (sokujo, kimoto, and yamahai), type and quality of rice used, cloudy (nigori), and aged (koshu). Different size formats, guidance on what to expect, all add to the appeal.
Australia’s Best Listing of French Wines
So many of the world’s greatest wines are sourced from France. So this award places the spotlight on its finest – Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux while not ignoring areas that have developed a cult following for maintaining their traditions: such as the Jura and Beaujolais. There are, too, the fascinating regional wines of the Rhone, the Loire, Alsace and many more. As always, the judges expect sommeliers to find a balance between the country’s finest and most expensive and the affordable.
Australia’s Best Listing of Italian Wines
Immigration has long given Italian wines a boost in Australia. At the top end, the prohibitive cost of the greatest wines of France have seen a surge in the popularity of Piedmont and Tuscany and world class Italian lists in Australia. While the cult wines of Sicily attract attention, the modestly priced country wines from all parts of Italy, with that plethora of indigenous varieties, are fascinating wine lovers, and sommeliers.
Australia’s Best Listing of Greek Wines
Greek wines offer a delightful journey through ancient vineyards and unique grape varieties. The best lists will be based on quality, style, varietal, regional and brand recognition and should certainly include the following varietals and regions, with white wines produced from Assyrtiko, an admirable pairing with seafood (especially from Santorini), Malagousia, Savatiano, Vidiano (from Crete) and aromatic Moschofilero, and red wines produced from Xinomavro with its impressive, powerful, dry red wines (especially from Macedonia and Thessaly), the most widely planted red grape variety, Agiorgitiko (especially from Peleponnese), Limniona and Mavrotragano.
Australia’s Best Listing of the Wines of the USA
The strength of the American economy and the dollar, as well as the fanatical devotion of the locals to their finest wines, has meant that offering a selection of the USA’s best is no easy task. The expansion of plantings in Oregon and the quality of more newly-established regions in California such as Mendocino, Monterey and Santa Barbara offers additional challenges to sommeliers. Those wishing to offer a list with the best representation of the wines of the USA will need to look beyond the Napa and Sonoma for what is possible.
Australia’s Best Listing of New Zealand Wines
There can surely be no Aussie sommelier who doesn’t have firm views on their favourite New Zealand wines and be delighted with the opportunity to display them to their clientele. The best regions and stand-out varietals are as fiercely contested here as they are in their homeland.
Australia’s Best Listing of Australian Organic and Biodynamic Wines
This innovative award judges lists which include wines that are certified organic by a well-respected organisation such as ACO or NASAA, or biodynamic, in which case, the holistic nurturing of soil is prioritized and the vineyard is treated as a cohesive living entity. The best of these lists will present organic and biodynamic wines as part of a well-balanced offering.
Organic Wines are crafted from grapes cultivated organically and are grown without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides, prioritising environmental sustainability by maintaining a natural equilibrium in the vineyard and its environs.
Biodynamics prioritizes the holistic nurturing of soil and treats the vineyard as a cohesive living entity. Rooted in the philosophies of Rudolf Steiner, this approach aligns vineyard activities with the lunar cycle, dictating the timing of tasks like pruning and harvesting. Biodynamic practitioners also utilise specially prepared mixtures containing manure, fermented herbs, and minerals. http://grenum.com/au/australian-organic-biodynamic-wine-producers/
Australia’s Best Listing of Museum and Rare Wines
The contenders for this award will list a substantial number of the finest wines from excellent vintages of local producers as well as iconic wines from Australia and key wine producing countries around the world.
Australia’s Choice Award (Consumer)
This award is being introduced as an opportunity for Australia’s consumers to express their recognition and gratitude for their favourite sommeliers and venues. So many venues have been overwhelmed by the support they have continued to receive from their customers during the Covid pandemic and this Award gives those consumers a further opportunity to show their appreciation.
Wine List Service Award
A new category in 2022, this award recognises and rewards those venues and sommeliers who demonstrate that they understand the critical importance of carefully and professionally storing, ‘By the Glass’ preserving, and serving – in superior quality glassware, the wines on their Wine List.
To address this need they have invested significantly in –
– their temperature control / refrigeration infrastructure – for storing and serving their wines,
– their ‘Wine by the Glass’ preservation systems, and
– their Glassware.
(Note: Entering this Award is optional, and the score achieved has no impact upon a venue’s overall AWLOTY Awards score.)