Swan Valley Wine Show features record number of entries

THE Swan Valley Wine Show is set to be the biggest yet with a record number of entries for its 30-year anniversary this month.

The show, which consists of wine judging, exhibitor tasting and gala dinner, is highly anticipated this year following a great 2017 vintage for red blends in the Swan Valley and a strong 2018 vintage for white blends.

Wine professional, judge and writer for Decanter Magazine Mr Chee Wee Lee from Singapore will be this year’s international guest judge, joining expert wine judges Mark Warren, Rob Mann, Severine Logan, Kim Horton, Hope Metcalf, Ray Jordan and associate judges Julian Tompkin and Josh Uren.

Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association president Yuri Berns said every year hundreds of wines were submitted for judging from around the Swan Valley, but this year there were a record number.

“We’ll be tasting the 2017 red blends for the first time and it will be interesting to see how they’ve come up, especially the shiraz and cabernet blends and in particular the alternative red varieties,” he said.

“For our 2018 whites for the Swan Valley the chenin blanc and Verdelho look very good.

“The dry rose and whites from 2018 will be very highly anticipated.”

This year also marks 184 years of the Swan Valley, the oldest wine region in WA and second oldest in Australia.

Mr Berns said the wine show was a fantastic way to show off the Swan Valley and local producers on a national and international stage.

“It’s really great seeing how far the show has come in the past 30 years and this year will definitely be bigger than previous years to celebrate this milestone,” he said.

“The wine show committee have been working hard to make sure this year is a real celebration of how far the event has come.”

The Swan Valley Wine Show will run from August 22 to 24.

For information or tickets to the 2018 Swan Valley Wine show visit Swan Valley Winemakers on Facebook.