World's biggest Shiraz tasting event at Australia's National Wine Centre
Lifestyle
WINESTATE Magazine is holding the 9th annual World’s Greatest Shiraz Challenge at the National Wine Centre in South Australia today, pitting hundreds of Shiraz and Syrah wines from around the globe against each other.
Sign up to receive notifications about new stories in this category.
Thank you for subscribing to story notifications.
This year will see over 500 entries in the competition, nearly double that of the next largest event held in France. Australian classics such as Penfolds Grange and Hill of Grace will face off against big names from the Rhone in France and some of South Africa’s finest.
“The results are always controversial,” says Peter Jackson, Wine Marketing Director of Winestate, “normally many big name ‘iconic’ wines are outclassed by smaller boutique producers at often one tenth of the price.”
“The wines are always blind-tested by at least three judges. We have two Masters of Wine on the panel, and there are only about 300 of those in the world. Theirs is the final word in wine.”
Last year, less than 2% of entries were awarded five stars.
“Grange – ‘the perfect wine’ – was awarded 3 stars last year. That’s good, but it’s not great.”
The National Wine Centre will open at 6pm Friday 30 May, for the sold out event. Over 600 bottles will be available for tasting, with around 550 attendees expected.
The Lead: National Wine Centre named Australia’s best speciality event venue
The Lead: National Wine Centre's high-tech investment makes it Australia's biggest tasting experience
Jump to next article
