The Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS) is thrilled to announce Steve Leszczynski as the recipient of the 2024 AAVWS Fellowship, proudly sponsored by Longview Vineyard. As the owner and editor of QwineReviews.com, Steve has been a prominent voice in the wine industry, publishing over 7,000 wine reviews since 2009, with a significant focus on […]
By Jeff Porter, 2023 International Guest Judge When I first stepped off the plane and felt the warm wind of Mildura, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into. Fresh from a whirlwind week traveling across Victoria, visiting wine estates, and soaking in the landscape, I thought I had a grasp of what […]
by Brooke Edson, Australian Vintage & AAVWS Committee Member In the vast landscape of the Australian wine industry there exists an abundance of alternative grape varieties waiting to be explored. Among these is Ansonica, also known as Inzolia. A Sicilian native that has found a new home in Australia, notably the Murray Darling region. A […]
by Cassandra Charlick I should have known as, after all, I was warned by countless people before my arrival. However, none of the words from others could have prepared me for the three days that awaited me once the plane hit the tarmac at the Mildura airport. I’d had the dates highlighted in my diary […]
Cassandra Charlick is a Margaret River-based wine and travel writer and presenter who was awarded a fellowship at the 2023 Wine Writers Symposium in California’s Napa Valley. She reviews and/or writes on wine for a number of publications including Decanter, the Halliday magazine, Delicious Magazine, Escape, Australian Traveller, Wine Pilot, The Urban List, Ray Jordan’s Wine Review and more. […]
After a two year hiatus that spoiled the AAVWS’s 20th birthday celebrations (thanks COVID) the team and wine-loving public was back in full-force for 2022. And, as the 2022 Fellow, early November saw me hop in the car and make the drive from Adelaide to Mildura. I arrived in the afternoon, in time to check-in […]
After the disruption of the previous couple of years I am so excited to be heading to Mildura this November as the AAVWS Fellow. It is fantastic to feel like things are slowly returning to normal. I am a wine educator and retailer based in Adelaide. My business, Wine Academy, has been teaching WSET courses […]
by Noah Ward, Unico Zelo It’s been at the core of our story ever since we began, this little white grape variety from Campania that we cherish. We have 6 – yes, 6 – different expressions of it that we make each year (not including things like Txak Atak and Off-White from our Funkworks side […]
by Ashley Ratcliff, AAVWS President, Director of Ricca Terra Farms and 2015 Viticulturist of the Year This year I have travelled twice to the USA to showcase our wines. This somewhat daunting challenge has opened my eyes to a market that seems to be wanting more from Australia. Let’s face it, we are known for […]
by Tim White, inaugural Chief of Judges of AAVWS and wine writer The wine in the glass had me puzzled. It smelled bit like Viognier in that it had luminous yellow smells of apricots; yet there was something also caramelised root vegetable-like which suggested a richer style of Grüner Veltliner. In the mouth it was […]
Changing the World
“The massive impact the AAVWS has had on wine production and consumption in Australia over the last 15 years is now flowing overseas as alternative varieties breathe new life into the UK market and add colour and excitement to the Australian offering.”
Ashley Ratcliff | President 2016 - 2020
