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The winners of Australia’s first wine show dedicated to Zero Alcohol wines were announced last night at an awards dinner and tasting at The KittyHawk in Sydney. The 2022 Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show tasting was held in May with five of Australia’s leading wine judges tasting through most of the zero alcohol wines currently available in Australia.

Forty-nine wines were judged in four classes with trophies awarded to the best wines in each class as well as for Best Winemaker and Best Wine overall.

Some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest wineries scooped the awards with trophies awarded to Jacob’s Creek and Wolf Blass. The only small winemaker to win a trophy was Sobriety Society, which was awarded the Best Chillable Red Trophy.

The overall winner was the Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV which won Best Wine and Best White Wine Trophies with New Zealand’s Giesen Group also named Best Winemaker.
Judges for the Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show included a panel of experienced palates including Chairman and leading winemaker, PJ Charteris, winemaking consultant Mike DeGaris, Winepilot Publisher Angus Hughson, Solotel Group Beverage Manager Annette Lacey MW, Group Wine Ambassador Matt Dunne as well as renowned wine writer and judge Tony Love.
Founder of the Zero Alcohol Wine Show, Angus Hughson commented “Zero alcohol and low alcohol is the fast growing wine category and our judging showed that, at this moment in time, the larger wineries are leading the pack.
“It was also fascinating to see that some wine styles are better suited to zero alcohol than others and that some unusual styles, such as Sparkling Riesling, actually work very well in a zero alcohol context.
“Zero alcohol is a brave new world for the wine industry and offers the opportunity for winemakers to innovate, and potentially develop new wines that become best-sellers in local and export markets.”
The inaugural Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show trophies winners comprise:

  • Trophy for Best Wine – Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV
  • Trophy for Best Winemaker – Giesen Group Ltd
  • Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine – Jacob’s Creek Unvined Sparkling NV
  • Trophy for Best White Wine – Ara Zero Sauvignon Blanc NV
  • Trophy for Best Chillable Red Wine – Sobriety Society Shiraz Tempranillo 2021
  • Trophy for Best Red Wine – Wolf Blass Zero Shiraz 2021

The 2022 Winepilot Zero Alcohol Wine Show was held thanks to the generous support of a wide range of sponsors including Flavourtech, Plus & Minus, Sanector, Sans Drinks, Winesave, Kaddy, Ultra Labels and Denomination

Photo (Edgeline Photography):
Trophy winners (L-R)
Ross Marshall – Managing Director, Fourth Wave Wine
Lexi O’Toole – Senior Brand Manager, Pernod Ricard Winemakers
Dan Chorley – Country Manager, Giesen Group
Chris Hatcher – Chief Winemaker, Wolf Blass