Winemakers shine

As the wine show season nears its end, the very best of Victoria's tipples were before the judges' noses and palates last week. Two local winemakers flew the flag. Strathbogie Shire winemakers fared well at the Victorian Wine Show awards, held at Tahbilk Estate on Thursday 13 November. Over 90 winemakers, sellers, and prize sponsors gathered at the estate's restaurant to see two local vineyards win between them four of the state’s 21 awards. Avenel’s Fowles Wine picked up the Don Lewis Trophy for best Riesling in Victoria, while Tahbilk Estate, outside of Nagambie, won Best Italian and Best Iberian awards, before taking home the prize for Best Exhibitor of the Show. Show director Tobias Ansted praised the winners but said the field was of good enough quality that there were many wines that could have ‘pipped them at the post’. “There are always winners, and whoever has won a trophy here has come up against the best in the state,” Mr Ansted said. “We group the wines together, so you are comparing apples with apples and that makes it quite close.” The Victorian Wine Show was established in 1981 and has grown with each year, judging wines that are made entirely in Victoria from Victorian-grown fruit. It also managed to continue through the COVID years. “If you think about it, that is no mean feat,” Mr Ansted said. “It’s a celebration of quality and diversity of wine ranging from colder regions making sparkling and Rieslings, to warm areas where you can get fortified wines.” Tahbilk winemaker Jo Nash said the most important thing about the success was the full journey of the process from the vines. “Without good fruit, we cannot make good wine, so it all starts with the vine in the vineyard,” Ms Nash said. “Once the vineyard team delivers the fruit into the winery it is our responsibility to capture all those features the vineyard team have spent growing for us and getting them all into the bottle. “We are the caretakers of the fruit.” Tahbilk’s 2025 Fiano won the Best Italian wine, having already won a trophy at the nationwide Melbourne Royal Wine Awards on 20-24 October. The day after last Thursday’s event, its win at the Royal Hobart Wine Show was announced. “You never expect or assume to win but in terms of quality of wine, the Fiano this year is a lovely wine and has been recognised already on the show circuit.” Mr Alsted said wine judging was important for all producers and not just the winners. “Judging allows wineries to benchmark themselves against their other vintages and so have the opportunity to improve their products.” He said another aspect of the show was the inclusion of trainee judges who taste alongside the more qualified ones. “There are three judges on a panel, and they judge independently and then they come together and compare scores and then they rejudge the top wines. “If one judge has given a high score on the first pass, then they’ll come back and revisit it as a group and will then decide on the best wine. “It is a collaborative process to get away from individual subjectivity, and you need a really systematic approach to that or else it’s an impossible task. “That’s also why we have associate judges tasting alongside the experts to learn the process and judge so many wines - it can be a hundred in a day - and be discerning while doing it. "There's an educational aspect to judging." Ms Nash also said the wins had made 2025 an 'even better' year, with Tahbilk celebrating 100 years of being operated by the Purbrick family. "It's a special year," she said. Love and wine for travelled man Fowles Wine’s cellar hand Tunakan Ozturk moved to Australia from Türkiye in 2017 to study for his two-year Masters degree in winemaking at Adelaide University’s Waite campus. After a placement in the McLaren Vale with Primo Estate for half a year he found himself at Fowles Wine, his first involvement coinciding with the 2022 vintage - the same year he graduated. Like all oenologists and winemakers-in-waiting, Tunakan has his inspirations set for the inevitable and says he looks forward to stepping up and taking further responsibility in his career. “I would like to be a winemaker,” Mr Tunakan said. “And that opportunity could be anywhere, of course, but I would love to stay here.” Tunakan was quick to praise those who give him his inspiration at Fowles, singling out chief winemaker Matt Harrop and the company’s risen star Tegan Clydesdale. “I am working with good winemakers - with a good team," he said. “Both Matt and Tegan are also good managers. “It’s good to learn from the people who have a good knowledge of wine and Matt has worked in other countries, so that brings even more experience.” Although Tunakan completed his engineering degree in Türkiye (majoring in food science), he lamented that the country’s wine industry lacked the worldwide reputation of other wine-producing nations and so chose ‘the Waite’ as his next alumnus due to Australia having less regulations and more varieties. “We have good native grape varieties (in Türkiye) and we are pretty much on the same latitude as other European countries known for their wine-making, but we are not good at marketing.” Does he aspire to returning home and turning that country’s wine industry on its head? “That would be nice because I believe Türkiye can grow really good wines." He then mentions having settled down outside of Seymour with an Australian girl, which begs the question about ever moving back. “Well, that was my dream,” he laughs.