2018 Swan Valley Wine Show – I got an award!!!

Wow, I am so excited about writing this post. Actually, I can still hardly believe it! Last night I attended the Singapore Airlines 2018 Swan Valley Wine Show Gala Awards Dinner at Mandoon Estate. To say it was a memorable night is an understatement!

2018 is a very special year for the Swan Valley Wine Show as it’s the 30th year for the show (woohoo well-done guys!). Not to mention this year the Swan Valley is celebrating 184 years of winemaking!

The 30th annual Swan Valley Wine Show is not stopping there with setting records though! This year there was also a record number of entries with over 270 wines entered into the various categories of the wine show.

Every year as you may have seen in my past recaps (2017, 2016, 2015) there is an international judge on the panel. This year Decanter Magazine wine writer Mr Chee Wee Lee from Singapore was the international guest judge. He joined the stellar line up of judges who included Mark Warren, Rob Mann, Severine Logan, Kim Horton, Hope Metcalf, Ray Jordan and associate judges Julian Tompkin and Josh Uren.

Firstly I just want to say congratulations to everyone and a huge thanks to the Swan Valley Wine Show Committee for inviting Mr Spittoon and I along. We are so glad we were able to make it and join in the celebrations. Plus it was absolutely lovely to stay at The Colony at Mandoon Estate.

I will be adding a digital copy of the full awards book to this post however in the interim here are the trophy winners from last night.

2018 Swan Valley Wine Show Trophy List:

Best Sparkling Wine

Sittella Marie Christien Lugten 2013

Best Verdelho

Stringybark Winery Verdelho 2018

Best Small Producer (less than 35 tonnes)

Talijancich Wines

Best Non-Greater Perth Zone Red or White Wine

Houghton Batch rojo Grande 2017

Best 2018 Dry White Wine of Show

Stringybark Winery Verdelho 2018

Alan Dinneen Memorial Trophy

John Kosovich Chenin Blanc 2013

Best White Wine or Blend (other than Verdelho)

Sittella  Museum Silk 2012

Best Red wine or Blend (other than Shiraz)

Sittella Tinta Rouge 2017

Best Swan Valley White Table Wine

Faber Vineyard Verdelho 2013

Best Shiraz or Shiraz Dominant Blend

Oakover White Label Shiraz 2017

Best Swan Valley Red Table Wine

Sittella Tinta Rouge 2017

Best Fortified Wine of Show

Talijancich Wines Pedro Ximenes 2007

The West Australian Media Trophy Award for Most Successful Producer

Talijancich Wines

City of Swan Trophy – Exhibitor whose 5 or more entries gained the highest average score

Talijancich Wines

Singapore Airlines Premium Trophy for Best Table Wine of Show

Stringybark Winery Verdelho 2018

Spirit of the Swan

Casey aka the Travelling Corkscrew

Heck yes, you read that right!!! I can still hardly believe it but I was awarded the Spirit of the Swan Award! Ahhhh!!!!

Spirit of the Swan 2018

The nominee must have exhibited an outstanding achievement or contributed to the promotion of Swan Valley wine, winemaking, viticulture, tourism, sales or marketing.

Wow just wow. I could hardly sleep when we got back to our room at The Colony (Mandoon Estate) I was that excited. However the whirlwind 24 hour trip and 2am start to the day did help.

I fell in love with the Swan Valley as soon as I first stepped foot in the John Kosovich cellar door (this was the first place we visited followed by Upper Reach!). It’s a big part of the reason a 2-week stopover turned into a 6 year home for Mr Spittoon and I.

I believe Perth is one of the luckiest cities in the world to have the Swan Valley on their doorstep. It’s the oldest wine region in Western Australia and the 2nd oldest in Australia don’t forget!

I feel incredibly honoured to be a part of the Swan Valley and to have accepted the Spirit of the Swan Award last night.

My acceptance speech

Those who know me, know I’m not great at public speaking. There’s a reason I work behind a computer after all!

However, I would like to think (it’s a bit of a blur now as I was so incredibly excited and nervous to stand up in front of everyone!) this is what I said when I accepted the award:

Oh my gosh thank you so much. I feel so honoured to be this years Spirit of the Swan recipient. I’d just like to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to the Swan Valley Wine Show Committee, the sponsors and everyone who makes this show possible. Congratulations on 30 years, that’s such an achievement! I’d also like to say a quick thanks to my husband, or more affectionately known as Mr Spittoon on the blog. He’s the one who I drag from cellar door to cellar door and he typically drives me around the wineries. Hard life he has 😉 But most of all I want to say thank you to everyone in the Swan Valley because you inspire me. You just make it so darn easy to blog about the Valley and share your stories. Perth is so lucky and I am excited for the future of the Swan Valley. Thank you!

Mic drop!

My trophy is a lovely magnum of Houghton Jack Mann 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, #64 out of the 102 produced. Seriously a trophy made of wine, you can’t go wrong with that!

Ok enough about me, but truly, thank you!

The 2018 Gala Dinner

How could I finish this post without highlighting the delicious meal and hospitality Mandoon Estate put on last night.

If you haven’t yet been to a Swan Valley Wine Show Gala Dinner then add it to your calendar for next year. You won’t be disappointed. The food, wine and atmosphere are the perfect mix for a wonderful night in the Valley.

I won’t make you jealous with my words. Instead, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Here’s to another great year and bring on the 2019 Swan Valley Wine Show!