By Adam Walls, the 2015 AAVWS Fellow

From the outset, my time at the 2015 AAVWS was A +.

Mildura put on a show! Postcard spring weather, country hospitality and top class food and wine.

The weekend opened my eyes to the momentum that ‘alternative varieties’ are currently experiencing in Australia. The AAVWS is the driving juggernaut behind this and the weekend in Mildura is a dynamic and unique experience.

I loved how the AAVWS brings together wine professionals and the public in an atmosphere that celebrates fun and knowledge just as much as show scores and medals. More a festival than a show!

The vast number of entries in the show, the quality of wines across the board and the variety of styles exceeded my expectations. Many of these I have sought out to try and include in future Wine Selectors offers.

The passion and knowledge amongst the AAVWS Family was both infectious and enviable. I gathered not only new information about varieties, production methods and regions but new ideas on how to best communicate these to others.

However the biggest leaning I gained from the entire weekend is just how much opportunity there are for ‘Alternative Varieties’ here in Australia. They not only arm the Australian wine landscape with diversity and produce wines that match our mix of cuisines; many suit our climate better than the more traditional varieties. This not only helps with sustainability and resource management but gives many of our warmer and drier inland regions a fresh opportunity.

A huge thank you to all involved with AAVWS 2015, it was an immensely fulfilling and humbling experience and one that I would highly recommend!

Cheers,

AW

*Pictured L-R: 2015 AAVWS Judge Alex McKay from Collector Wines with 2015 AAVWS Fellow Adam Walls