A wine from Tasmania won the top prize at the Sydney Royal Wine Show
The 2024 Pooley Syrah from Tasmania was named the best wine at the Sydney Royal Wine Show—Australia’s oldest and one of its most prestigious wine competitions. Pooley Wines, based in Cole River, also won trophies for Best Red Wine and Best Syrah.
According to ABC News Australia, 31 judges evaluated more than 1,500 wines in 55 categories, submitted by producers from across Australia. The Pooley Syrah became the first Tasmanian Syrah to win awards for Best Red Wine and Best Syrah. Syrah is a variety of Shiraz known for its dark fruit notes and peppery spices.
Head judge Mike De Iulias stated that wines from cooler climates were a defining feature of this year’s competition. According to him, Pooley Syrah’s success demonstrates that high-quality wines can come from different parts of Australia. The victory of the Tasmanian wine was an unusual outcome for the competition, where the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in South Australia have traditionally dominated among the well-known Shiraz-producing regions.
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This year, the Sydney Royal Wine Show is celebrating its 200th anniversary. The first competition was held in 1826, and the winner at that time received a small gold medal for the best sample of colonial wine from that vintage. Angus Barnes, the competition’s chairman, noted that at that time, there were only a few serious winemakers in Australia, who primarily produced fortified wines.
According to Barnes, the competition played an important role in the development of the wine industry, as it gave producers the opportunity to compare their wines with those of their competitors. At the same time, according to Wine Australia, global per capita wine consumption has declined from 4 liters in 1990 to 2.7 liters in 2023. The industry is also facing competition from craft beer and mixed drinks.
