The University of Adelaide School of Agriculture, Food and Wine hosted a workshop and Awards presentation for entrants in the 2017 National Schools Wine Competition on Thursday 26th October.
Held in conjunction with the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, this competition aims to lift the profile of those schools that make wine, enable the school’s wines to be judged by a professional judging panel, promote the vocations of viticulture and winemaking and be an educational experience for the students involved. This year there were a large number of entries from schools across the country vying for four trophies.
The morning workshop was attended by approximately 50 students teachers from Nuriootpa High School, Streaky Bay Area School, Urrbrae Agricultural High School, Willunga High School and Lucindale Area School. Staff from the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, the Why Waite program and TAFE SA presented interactive sessions on different aspects of viticulture and wine making.
Activities included testing the malic acid concentration in red and white wines, wine sensory experiments, demonstrations of the physical and chemical properties of soils and using grapevine morphology to identify grape varieties. Presentations were also given by researchers on their viticulture and oenology projects and the use of new technologies.
The competition awards were presented after lunch. The wines were judged by Royal Adelaide Wine Show judges Peter Godden (AWRI) and Paul Hotker (Winemaker at Bleasdale Wines) on the same basis as the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, so the medals awarded were well deserved. The judging panel reported the overall quality of entries in the Schools Competition was excellent, particularly with the white wines. Wines were classified based on whether they had been made and bottled on the school premises or with off-site assistance.
The winners of the major trophies were:
- The CCL Label Clear Image Trophy for Best Wine Label:
Lucindale Area School for their 2015 Limestone Coast Cabernet Sauvignon label design - The TAFE SA Trophy for Best Wine Made by a School:
Nuriootpa High School for their Barossa Class Shiraz - The University of Adelaide Trophy for Best Commercially Produced Wine:
St Josephs School, Stanthorpe QLD for their 2017 Stanthorpe Pinot Grigio - The Seppeltsfield Wines Trophy for Best Fortified Wine:
Nuriootpa High School for their Nuriootpa High Ruby
