Awards
2019 winners
AUSTRALIA’S WINE LIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2020 WHERE DO CONSUMERS BEGIN WHEN LOOKING FOR A VENUE WITH A CRACKING WINE LIST? WORD OF MOUTH WAS ONCE THE BEST ADVERTISEMENT, NOW AUSTRALIA’S WINE LIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS ARE THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE BEST RESTAURANTS, PUBS, CLUBS, HOTELS, BARS AND CAFES IN METRO AND REGIONAL AREAS. Established in 1994, the awards were dreamt up by Rob and Judy Hirst while running Sydney’s first wine and spirit merchant, Tucker Seabrook. They saw a need for an awards program that recognised and rewarded the hard work and talent of sommeliers, and enormous investment in time and resources by business owners to develop quality wine lists and cellars. Today, Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards are not only the most prestigious national awards in their field, but have also played a major role in lifting the standard of Australia’s wine lists over the past three decades. The awards’ judging panel consists of more than 30 wine industry professionals, wine communicators, sommeliers, winemakers, Master
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Sommeliers and Masters of Wine who assess the lists on quality, balance, price, presentation and suitability. Sadly, Judy Hirst died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. Now her legacy lives on in the Judy Hirst Award, which is given each year to the sommelier responsible for the Wine List of the Year. Her husband Rob continues to run the awards each year. Amid a challenging time for the hospitality industry with COVID-19, Rob said the awards were committed to assisting venues by “highlighting their achievements through the widest possible recognition and exposure”. He said this year’s awards give the industry a chance to share its achievements and a reason to celebrate while many rebuild.
So, what makes a venue’s wine list award-worthy? Aria, Jonah’s and Pilu are restaurants that have worked exceptionally hard to develop quality wine lists that add to the customer’s experience, demonstrated by their repeat wins at the awards. In fact, Aria was one of the earliest winners of the Wine List of the Year Award and its win in 2003 instantly set a benchmark for itself and wine programs across the country. The Sydney-based restaurant’s head sommelier, Alex Kirkwood, said the award created an expectation for staff “to maintain a list worthy of national attention.” Nowadays, Aria is pushing its wine list to the next level to provide an experience that’s internationally recognised. One of its
